by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Duval County’s health is in trouble. That’s what Healthy Jacksonville, a new, non-profit community initiative, suggests.
Recently, two separate reports — one produced by the Duval County Health Department, the other by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — arrived at similar conclusions. Across the board, Duval County’s frequency of health related incidence, which include everything from the overall cancer death rate to the number of homicides, is far above the national average.
The Healthy Jacksonville Initiative began in June 2002 as part of a locally based national agenda, Healthy People 2010. The goal: to improve the health of the community within a decade through progressive health promotion, disease prevention and treatment efforts. Currently, 28 research focus areas including cancer, diabetes, and even violence comprise the Duval chapter.
“One of the primary things we want to try to understand is why we’re rating so highly,” said Dr. Antoinette Lloyd, the director of Healthy Jacksonville. “Now that we have these numbers, we need to figure out how to prevent it in the future.”
Lloyd, a Yale medical school graduate and former family practitioner, became involved with Healthy Jacksonville after she spoke to Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, the director of Duval County’s health department.
“I have a passion for health,” she said, “and getting Duval County healthy is important to Healthy Jacksonville and it should be important to everyone living here, too.”
Lloyd says that the first step to doing just that is make the appropriate funding available. Initial costs for the initiative were covered by the U.S. Health Department.
“It’s interesting to me,” Lloyd said, “that so much money has been spent on the aesthetic of the city. We’ve literally spent millions and millions of dollars on infrastructural advances like roads and bridges while very little emphasis or money has been put towards the health of the people living here.”
Lloyd confessed that while some programs have been adopted in the past, such as initiatives focusing on the underprivileged and uninsured, an overall blanket of concern addressing the entire community has yet to take form.
“This is a concerted effort,” Lloyd said. “We have about 150 people working with us. Many of our volunteers are health professionals, but we’re going to need money to help us absorb the costs and develop our strategies.”
In addition to seeking private funding, Healthy Jacksonville currently is petitioning to meet with the the City Council in an attempt to get money — no specific dollar amount has been decided upon — as well as seeing new legislation passed impacting health.
“We’d like our work with the Council to be highly collaborative,” she said. “We need the resources to get things done.”
“One of the areas that I feel strongly about,” Lloyd said, “is our schools. For example, I’d like to take a closer look at what our children are eating. I was also shocked and upset to learn that physical education is no longer mandatory in Duval County. We need to stimulate our childrens’ minds as well as their bodies. Physical activity can improve all aspects of health. These are things that are going to be important further down the line.”
While only speculation, Lloyd suggested that with the proper funds, healthier diets, fitness and, perhaps, information on STD prevention could become integrated into the school system.
“We’re lucky to have our volunteers,” she said, “but these people do need to make a living, too. We need to a look at the big picture. The cost for education and other preventative measures is drastically lower than the cost of any treatment. We need to do research to improve the quality of life here.”
Healthy Jacksonville currently has many volunteer opportunities. Those interested should call 665-2520.