FirstHealth of the Carolinas

www.firsthealth.org

Active for Life program contacts:

Melissa Watford
mwatford@firsthealth.org

Barbara Bennett
bbennett@firsthealth.org

FirstHealth of the Carolinas is implementing Active Living Every Day. The organization is collaborating with area Chambers of Commerce, AARP, churches, and the Department of Aging and Community Health Services with a goal of reaching sedentary mid-life and older adults in North Carolina. They are especially focusing on reaching retirees in rural and resort areas. Blue-collar, middle-class Caucasian, African-American, and Native-Americans make up approximately 33 percent of the people age 60 plus in the target communities.

"Active Living Every Day provides us an evidence-based program to encourage community members to overcome the barriers that keep them from being physically active," reports Lisa Hartsock, Administrative Director of Community Health Services. "Our participants have documented many ways they have experienced positive outcomes by incorporating physical activity consistently in their daily lives."

FirstHealth of the Carolinas is a private, not-for-profit health care delivery and financing system based in Moore County, North Carolina. The system includes three hospitals, six centers for health and fitness, seven primary care centers and three dental care centers, as well as home health and hospice care. A simple but powerful core purpose, "to care for people," guides FirstHealth. A commitment to providing outstanding medical care to the communities FirstHealth serves is clear as FirstHealth has been named a top 100 hospital in the nation in the areas of heart, stroke and orthopedic care in recent years. FirstHealth Mobile Health Services offers chronic disease screenings in churches and during community events. A comprehensive tobacco cessation program provides services at occupational sites and in local physician offices and FirstHealth Centers for Health and Fitness bring expert fitness staff and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to small rural communities in FirstHealth's service region.