A lot of people think that health is shaped solely by health care. But what we're finding
is that social factors like education have a larger impact on health. Research shows that only
about 10% of our health outcomes are determined by health care. Our education and health initiative is
trying to raise awareness about the importance of education to health and the way that they
are connected. Education impacts health with different layers, right? There's education about
personal behavioral choices and the people who have more education tend to make
healthier choices. But then there's the sort of the social determinant piece of this, which is when you
have an education, and when you have access to a career and to income, it sets you on a path where
everything about the decisions you make, day in day out, are the healthier choices. Education in
my community goes a long way. Being educated now means getting better employment, teaching our kids
to be successful, and just making a difference in everyday life. And those who have higher
levels of education have greater exposure to both people, resources of information, that have
a focus on healthy lifestyles, which include, not only eating habits, but also level of physical
activity. And awareness, being able to advocate and ask for what you want, helps to facilitate
for health care lifestyle. So if it's needing your community to have green spaces, have a
park, a playground, it's important to know that you can advocate for yourself and for others.
Self-determination can open a lot of doors for a lot of people. It's best to pay it forward and
become a mentor to someone else, and help them out, and show them that being a self motivator--
anything is possible, anything is achievable Our kids need to see us all become self-motivated.
In any neighborhood, committed parents and a nurturing home environment are very important
to a child's education. But neighborhood conditions do matter. Well, I've lived here for about eight or
nine years now and it is hard for kids to think about the future. Because it's someone's crime
and violence going on in the neighborhood. Things just like not eating, or having someone to make you
feel safe. It would kind of be impossible for you to get to school and feel a sense of security or
safety, to even be able to let your guard down to be able to learn. If you have a neighborhood
that's not motivating and stimulating, then your motivation itself will lack. So the best thing
that you see in your neighborhood is a drug dealer.Then that becomes your goal. The best
thing you see in your neighborhood is working a nine-to-five and that becomes your goal. But
if you see the doctors and the lawyer that you see, the teachers and the professors, then that becomes
your goal. Poor neighborhoods oftentimes have poor schools. At least, poor schools oftentimes
lead to poor educational outcomes. And these poor education outcomes oftentimes lead to
poor jobs. These poor jobs push you right back in these poor neighborhood. Part of what we're
trying to do with this initiative is to connect the dots, is to help people in the health care
field understand the importance of education as a potential strategy for preventing disease and
lowering health care costs, in helping the many people who are working in the area of education
reform, to recognize that improved health outcomes for our children and later adults are among the
benefits that come from a better education. If we really want to save lives in this country
and prevent disease and reduce health care costs, we have to do something about education.