Oro Dental Medicine has dedicated itself to many community service volunteering efforts during the past 12 years. The most recent project has been its founding of the “Healthiest Town in America” initiative in Northwest Pima County.
Mayor Bob Walkup of Tucson and Former Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Richard Carmona are part of a nation wide movement to bring awareness to the epidemic that is diabetes and obesity especially in our young people. Drs Bob and Debbie Oro have accepted the challenge to spearhead this movement for better overall health in Northwest Pima County.
Starting in July of 2006 Drs. Oro have been formulating a plan to tackle these very difficult health issues. On 10/17/07 Drs. Oro presented their idea of the “Healthiest Town in America” initiative to the Oro Valley Town Council. It was very well received and Dr. Oro commenced to form a committee to bring the many facets of health care together.
Once the committee was formed it was his idea that these leaders in the community would be the role models to connect us to the rest of the folks in our community. The proposal is that each person agree to 3 things:
- Wear a pedometer
- Track their daily activity
- Agree to not gain weight for one year.
We are excited to say the Oro Valley/Marana Magazine has agreed to be a partner with our committee. Our Plan is to “Kick Off” the HTA initiative in Jan. of 2009. The Kick off will be in conjunction with Northwest Medical Center /Oro Valley’s “Commit to Fit” program.
Drs Oro will be asking 150 “leaders” in our community to join our efforts by going to the HTA web site and documenting their participation. It is our hope that the folks in our community will be inspired by these champions and join us in our efforts to make the Northwest the “Healthiest Town in America.”
Committee Members:
*Oro Dental Medicine-Robert J. Oro, DMD, Founder and Committee Chair
*Idea Magic Marketing and Promotions-MJ Jensen/ Chief Idea Officer
*Northern Pima County Chamber of Commerce-Ramon Gaanderse, President/CEO
* Marana Chamber of Commerce-Ed Stohlmaker, CEO
* Northwest Medical Center/ Oro Valley-Shawn Strash, CEO
*NPCC C– Health & Community Resource Committee Health-Kim Chimene/Director of Marketing Northwest Hospital
* Town of Oro Valley-Sandra Abbey/Human Resources Director
*Town of Oro Valley, Parks and Rec -Ainsley Legner
*Oro Valley/Marana Magazine-Kevin Miller /Sales Manager
*Wellness Council of Arizona-Doug Adelberg / V. P. Lovitt and Touche’ Inc.
* Community Member-Charles Reeves
*All About Walking & Running, Harvest for Hope- John Corbett/Owner
*NW Family YMCA-Jane Bloomfield/Assistant Executive Director
*University of Arizona-Scott Going/ Professor of Nutritional Sciences
*American Heart Association-Sonja Brown/Heart Walk Director
* Northwest Medical Center, Marana-Jolene Campbell/Marketing Manger
* Northwest Medical Center/ Oro Valley-Kristina Gobel/Marketing Manager
*University of Arizona-Erin Nurss, MPH Grad student
*Vestar-Sarah LaPorte/ Local Area Marketing Manager
*Southern Az. Dental Society (Dr. Kevin Haley-Pres.)- Dr. Bob Oro/ Director at Large
Proposal: “The Healthiest Town in America”
Presented by: Drs Bob and Debbie Oro of Oro Dental Medicine
Oro Valley Town Council Meeting 10/17/07
Health and healthcare has been a major issue in our country since 1992. There has been many ideas, organizations, private and governmental entities attempting to “fix” this issue. My concern is for our community. It has always been my feeling that health and healthcare is a very individualized and personal issue. To that end Deb and I have been working for the last 16 years to understand some of the basic needs to become healthier citizens and part of a healthier community.
The Chinese proverb states; The longest journey starts with the first step.” When it comes to health and healthcare I feel this is the best place to start on our journey to becoming the “Healthiest Town in America.” It starts with the first step, literally and figuratively. It starts with the understanding that health “starts with me.” It is a personal responsibility and a responsibility to our community.
I am here tonight to advise the Council of some of the initial work we have done to try and take the first steps to better health and healthier communities. It is my hope that the steps we take will be ones others and other communities will want to emulate. More importantly my hope is that all of you who are my elected representatives, town officials, friends, and community members will realize how important your well being is to me, my wife, my family and the rest of the community. We need to step up and be the role models for not only the rest of the community but more importantly for our families and ourselves.
Health and healthcare need to be recognized as one of the pillars of “Our Community of Excellence.” I feel that communities that embrace this concept will be embracing the future. Whether we like it or not, “the good news is we are going to live to be 95, the bad news is we are going to live to be 95.” The only thing that will be more costly in time effort and dollars to not embracing the importance of good individual health is to not embrace it.
To paraphrase President John Kennedy: “Ask not what your community can do for your health but what you can do for the health of your community.”
Enjoy the Journey,
Bob and Debbie Oro |
