Tivity Health Leads National Strategy to Improve Health of Older Rural Americans

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