St. George earns “Healthy Utah Community” award for Live Well program
St. George earned statewide recognition this week for its efforts to get its 50-and-older population to live healthy lifestyles.
The city was recognized as a “Healthy Utah Community” at the annual conference of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, which was hosted in St. George last week, earning an award for its participation in the Live Well (Live!) initiative along with Dixie State University and Intermountain Healthcare, which operates the St. George Regional Hospital.
“It is our goal for seniors to live long robust lives through physical activity, cognitive stimulation through education, and social connection with each other,” Shane McAffee, Director of Leisure Services for the City of St. George, said of the recognition, crediting the city’s long list of health-oriented projects like an interconnected trail system, park quotas, community gardens and other efforts to present an attractive outdoors.
When our community is physically resilient, they are engaged in living the best life they can. We are honored that Get Healthy Utah recognizes our ongoing efforts to inspire social engagement, an active lifestyle and mental agility among our seniors,” McAffee said.
The Live Well program started as an extension of DSU’s Institute for Continued Learning, a university program that offers classes to residents 55 and older.
In a recent six-week “wellness challenge”, the Institute had participants take a “three-pronged” approach that included efforts to interact daily with friends and family, to get outdoor exercise each day and to challenge themselves intellectually by taking classes, learning a language, learning a musical instrument or otherwise keeping their brains busy, said Rob Kramer, director of the Institute.
“Many participants sustained throughout the six-week period thanks to the City and Intermountain Healthcare’s help in spurring the community to keep going,” he said. “We are grateful for our partners’ ongoing support.”
The award was granted on Friday, April 22, which was Earth Day, as part of a presentation at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins.
