San Bernadino Sun Cites PHI’s HPI to Highlight Connections Between Place and Health

“Our environment plays a crucial role in shaping our health and well-being. Research shows that a person’s ZIP code can significantly impact their overall health, sometimes even more than genetics.

Living a healthy life is profoundly influenced by community resources, such as access to nutritious food, affordable and safe housing, quality job opportunities, clean air and safe public spaces for recreation and social connection.

While many neighborhoods in the Inland Empire face challenges, including high rates of chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, these issues are compounded by significant health disparities. The Healthy Places Index, or HPI, which measures health factors across the state, highlights this further, with San Bernardino County ranking in the bottom 25th percentile and Riverside County in the 41st. However, local initiatives are blossoming across the region, focusing on enhancing outcomes through collaborative, place-based efforts.

IEHP Foundation is investing in such initiatives, including the Blue Zones Project in Riverside County and Vibrant Villages in San Bernardino County. Both aim to collaborate with residents, community leaders and nonprofit organizations to create healthier, happier neighborhoods.

Recently, IEHP Foundation partnered with Barstow Community College to launch Vibrant Villages in Barstow, backed by a three-year investment of over $600,000. This effort will focus on enhancing health and wellness in Barstow by working closely with community members to identify health priorities and develop strategies to improve wellness.

Vibrant Villages is a community-driven health improvement initiative established by IEHP Foundation to improve the health of communities. The idea is to develop sustainable strategies that improve conditions that encourage healthy behaviors while reducing unhealthy behaviors.

To prepare, IEHP Foundation conducted a study exploring possible locations in 2024 in collaboration with the Inland Empire Health Plan, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health and SAC Health. As a result of socioeconomic, social and environmental factors and input from community members, Barstow and San Bernardino were selected as the pilot locations.

Although Barstow and San Bernardino are vastly different in population, demographics, and geography — Barstow being more rural and San Bernardino denser in population — there are notable similarities in their health data.”

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Originally published by The Sun