Excerpted from Theresa Hermary’s “Focus on Overall Health,” Vernon Morning Star, August 1, 2009:

It’s estimated that the health care system itself is responsible for less than 25 percent of what makes us healthy. Where we live, work and play determines the other 75 percent… In order to improve and maintain health over the long-term, we need to look beyond the health system and instead at how society is organized.

 

Imagine a prescription for health which included: affordable and accessible housing for everyone; fair wages and safe workplaces; and affordable, high quality daycare and education.

 

Achieving this vision may seem like a dream, but a growing number of communities are beginning to see how they can be a part of this change.