NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tivity
Health® (Nasdaq: TVTY) is hosting its third annual
Connectivity Summit on Rural Aging to promote healthy aging for
rural Americans. The Summit will include an action-focused agenda
that engages stakeholders from community and faith-based
organizations, government, academia and the private sector to
improve the health and well-being of rural seniors.
This year's Connectivity Summit is focused on the conditions in
which people live, work and age – also known as the social
determinants of health – exploring how these factors impact the
health of older Americans living in rural areas and solutions that
can mitigate their impact. More than 11,000 Americans are aging
into Medicare every day, and nearly 1 in 4 live in rural areas.
"Tivity Health is uniquely positioned to address critical health
factors for seniors, including inactivity, food insecurity, and
social isolation and loneliness," said Donato Tramuto, CEO of Tivity Health and
president and founder of Health eVillages. "Our annual Summit
serves as a driver for change and a forum for key stakeholders to
engage to spark innovation and strengthen existing solutions to
support those aging in rural areas."
The event features nearly two dozen speakers and experts,
including U.S. Senator William
Frist, M.D., award-winning journalist Katie Couric, MIT AgeLab founder and
director Joseph Coughlin, Ph.D.,
Jefferson College of Population Health
founding dean emeritus David B.
Nash, M.D., M.B.A., and renowned social isolation researcher
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D. Other
speakers include representatives from Aetna, Humana, Walmart, the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources
and Services Administration and the Administration for Community
Living.
"The time is now to explore solutions to improve our healthcare
system as a whole, and to acknowledge the critical role that social
determinants of health play in the health of individuals and
communities," said U.S. Senator William
Frist, M.D. "Our daily behaviors, where and how we live,
work, eat and play, have a greater impact on our health outcomes
and long-term well-being than the medical care we receive, yet our
health spending is disproportionately concentrated on the
latter."
More than 200 national and local leaders will come to
Nashville for the event, which is
hosted by Tivity Health in partnership with Health eVillages, the
MIT AgeLab, and the Jefferson College
of Population Health.
In conjunction with the Summit, Tivity Health also released
Aging Well in Rural America: A Collection of Stories from the
Heartland. The publication highlights organizations – from the
public and private sectors – that catalyze change through
innovative partnerships and programs designed to improve aging and
promote social connectivity in communities across the United States. These examples provide a
roadmap for solutions to address challenges including physical
activity, food insecurity and social isolation, loneliness and
transportation.
"Across the country, community-based organizations and local
officials are mobilizing for positive change, addressing the needs
of older adults in their communities," said Curtis Hayes, mayor of Livingston, TN, which has revitalized its
downtown to create a more livable community. "In Livingston,
we added a downtown park and event space to provide a place for
members of the community to connect and be more active. The
challenges are different in every community and this Summit enables
us to share successes and learn from each other's experiences."
Nineteen organizations will be recognized at the Connectivity
Summit for successful community-based programs that are impacting
the lives of seniors across the country. Their stories are featured
in the Aging Well in Rural America publication, which can be
downloaded here.
About Tivity Health Inc.
Tivity Health®
Inc. is a leading provider of health improvement, nutrition,
fitness and social engagement solutions at scale to improve
clinical outcomes, reduce healthcare costs and create opportunities
to feel better, work better and live better. With decades of
clinical and operational expertise, Tivity Health touches millions
of consumers through its integrated portfolio of brands and works
directly with hundreds of healthcare practitioners and many of the
nation's largest payers and employers. Tens of millions of
Americans are currently eligible for Tivity Health's
SilverSneakers®, Prime® Fitness, WholeHealth
Living™ and flip50™ programs and millions of people have lost
weight with Nutrisystem®, South Beach Diet®
and DNA BodyBlueprint™. As part of its commitment to tackling
social isolation and loneliness, in 2017, Tivity Health launched a
rural aging initiative to address challenges unique to older adults
in rural communities. Learn more at www.TivityHealth.com.
About Health eVillages
Health eVillages collaborates
to advance healthcare access and improve the quality of care by
providing state-of-the-art mobile health technology including
medical reference and clinical decision support tools, as well as
other community-focused resources, to medical and public health
professionals in the most challenging clinical environments around
the world. Our partners include Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights,
Tivity Health, Sharecare, the Tramuto Foundation, Skyscape, PCS
Wireless, Global Impact, the Maternity Foundation, Medical Aid
Films, and more. You can find more information at
www.healthevillages.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram
and Facebook.
About the MIT AgeLab
The MIT AgeLab is a
multidisciplinary research program that works with business,
government, and NGOs to improve the quality of life of older people
and those who care for them. The MIT AgeLab applies
consumer-centered systems thinking to understand the challenges and
opportunities posed by the longevity economy. To learn more, visit
agelab.mit.edu.
About the Jefferson College of
Population Health
Established in 2008, JCPH is
part of Thomas Jefferson University, a
leader in interdisciplinary, professional education, and home of
the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design,
Engineering and Commerce. JCPH is dedicated to exploring the
policies and forces that define the health and well-being of
populations. Its mission is to prepare leaders with global vision
to examine the social determinants of health and to evaluate,
develop and implement health policies and systems that will improve
the health of populations and thereby enhance the quality of life.
JCPH provides exemplary graduate academic programming in population
health, public health, health policy, healthcare quality and
safety, and applied health economics and outcomes research. Its
educational offerings are enhanced by research, publications and
continuing education and professional development offerings in
these areas.
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SOURCE Tivity Health