Focus on the 60

While health care providers most often tend to patients during episodes of injury and illness, research shows that up to 60 percent of a person’s health is tied to lifestyle factors.

That’s why, beyond the quality healthcare Boone Memorial Health provides, we are committing our time, resources, and financial support to projects and activities that focus on the 60 percent of non-clinical factors that influence your health. Those things include healthy lifestyle projects that will keep people moving, programs that provide health education, and initiatives that promote a stronger economy.

We invite you to focus on “the 60,” too. As a healthcare system with a goal of making the communities we serve better places to live, work, learn, and play, we are here with services, programs, and people that are dedicated to helping you live your healthiest life.

Here are a few things that you can do:

Schedule a check-up with your primary care provider. If you don’t have a primary care provider, see the list of BMH providers listed below.
- Have your blood pressure checked.
- Schedule a routine blood panel.
- Find out if you’re due for booster vaccines or other immunizations.
- Discuss your health goals.

Learn about BMH’s Healthy Lifestyle & Diabetes Education Programs.
Find out if you’re eligible for BMH’s FARMacy Program.
Check our Events Page for upcoming Lunch and Learn and other health-related events.

More about lifestyle factors that influence health

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are non-medical factors that are determined by the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that influence a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. The primary SDOH include economic stability, education access and quality, healthcare access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.

Examples of SDOH can include:

Access to safe/stable housing and the zip code you live in
Access to transportation
Access to quality education and job opportunities
Your work environment, how many jobs you work and financial compensation
Your household income
Access to nutritious foods and physical activity opportunities
Access to clean water and air
Your experiences with racism, discrimination, and violence
Your language and literacy skills

While we might not realize it, all of these factors shape our behaviors and have a major impact on our health, well-being and quality of life.

Here’s an example:

A person who doesn’t have convenient access to a grocery store with healthy foods is less likely to have good nutrition. This raises their risk of health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

How Boone Memorial Health is impacting SDOH

In 2022, Boone Memorial Health established the BMH Foundation for Community Health as a department of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit health system to be laser-focused on improving community health by addressing the social determinants of health.

Since its establishment, the BMH Foundation for Community Health has provided more than $400,000 in financial support to other non-profits and governmental entities to fund projects specifically designed to improve SDOH; hosted hundreds of residents in free community health education courses; and launched a multi-million-dollar Farmers Market and Greenhouse project, raising over $2.5 million in federal and state funding for construction.

The work of the BMH Foundation for Community Health will remain a priority for Boone Memorial health as we continuously work to improve the health outcomes for southern West Virginians across the communities we serve.