The following is a press release issued by the County of Mendocino:
The County of Mendocino has officially received the Blue Zones Project Approved status, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to fostering a healthier, happier work community.
“We are thrilled to achieve the Blue Zones Project Approved status,” said Darcie Antle, Chief Executive Officer. “This designation underscores our dedication to improving the well-being of our employees and their families by promoting healthy living and creating an environment that supports longevity.”
Blue Zones Project is a national initiative that leverages insights from the world’s longest-lived and healthiest cultures to enhance community health and wellness. The rigorous criteria for Blue Zones Project approval include demonstrating a commitment to promoting healthy eating habits, regular physical activity, social engagement, and a sense of purpose.
“The County of Mendocino has exceeded the Blue Zones Project guidelines, showcasing our community’s strengths and dedication to health,” said Michelle Hutchins, organization lead for Blue Zones Project Mendocino County. “We are proud to recognize the efforts of our local leaders in making this achievement possible.”
Several initiatives contributed to the County of Mendocino’s Blue Zones Project approval. These include:
- Nutrition: Educating employees on the importance of mindful eating and balanced nutrition with ongoing individual support through various programs.
- Physical Activity: Programs encouraging daily exercise and the creation of safe, accessible spaces for walking and biking to and from work.
- Social Engagement: Events and community spaces that foster connections among employees.
- Purpose and Well-being: Activities and resources that help employees find and pursue their purpose.
The County of Mendocino has numerous projects and programs that align with Blue Zones principles. These include the Leadership Initiative, comprehensive health benefits, Employee Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program and more.
“Being part of the Blue Zones Project is an honor and a testament to our County’s hard work and dedication,” Maureen Mulheren, District 2 Supervisor added. “We look forward to continuing our efforts to create a healthier environment for all our employees.”
The County of Mendocino joins the growing list of organizations across the County that have embraced the Blue Zones Project to enhance the quality of life for their employees. As one of the largest employers, this designation is a significant step towards ensuring that Mendocino County remains a vibrant, healthy place to live, work, and play.
For more information about the Blue Zones Project and the County of Mendocino’s initiatives, please visit https://mendocinocounty.bluezonesproject.com/approved-worksites/
About Blue Zones Project
Blue Zones Project® is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city’s environment, policy, and social networks. Established in 2010, Blue Zones Project is based on research by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author who identified five cultures of the world—or blue zones —with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. The Project incorporates Buettner’s findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. In partnership with Sharecare, the model has since been applied to more than 75 communities across North America, impacting more than 5 million citizens. The population health solution includes Albert Lea, Minnesota; the city of Fort Worth, Texas; Corry, Pennsylvania; Brevard, North Carolina; Grand Forks, North Dakota; and communities in California, Iowa, Southwest Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. For more information, visit https://bluezonesproject.com
About Blue Zones Project – Mendocino County
Blue Zones Project® is brought to Mendocino County through an innovative sponsorship with Adventist Health and Blue Zones, LLC. Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii, as well as others across the U.S. through its Blue Zones® organization, a pioneer in taking a systemic and environmental approach to improving the health of entire cities and communities. Through this work and other initiatives, Adventist Health is leading a 21st century well-being transformation movement. For more information, visit https://mendocinocounty.bluezonesproject.com.
The County of Mendocino is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for its residents through a variety of health, wellness, and community-building initiatives. Located along California’s scenic North Coast, Mendocino County is known for its natural beauty, vibrant communities, and commitment to sustainability and well-being. For more information, visit https://www.mendocinocounty.gov/home.
Let’s hear from the county employees. Is any of this true? Are you happy? Is your county work environment so greatly improved that this “blue zone” award is warranted? Or do the employees have a different experience? I’d love to hear from you!
I second this. I also say how about doing remote exit interviews for all the turn-overed staff over the last several years. There are more ex-employees over the last few years than there are current employees in some these offices.
As a county employee I can tell you the only reason we participate in any activities is to get a reduction in our overly high insurance premiums. Sorry, award not deserved.
Another deflection from the BOS to give themselves a pat on the back and continue the smoke screen of why they deserved that ridiculously high raise they voted for themselves. And yet another opportunity for Mo to hear herself talk and and have it quoted so see can read her name in yet another article. Also apparently to take credit for something that the county employees handle and organize, not the BOS. If you wanted to give credit where it’s due Mo, say “County employees”, not just the “County” saying that says you’re giving yourselves credit as the so called “leaders”.
The following are the listed reasons the county received this award:
“Nutrition: Educating employees on the importance of mindful eating and balanced nutrition with ongoing individual support through various programs.
Physical Activity: Programs encouraging daily exercise and the creation of safe, accessible spaces for walking and biking to and from work.”
These first two kind of go hand in hand with a long time program our HR county employees run (see that credit where it belongs, not so hard) that we as employees follow along to get an annual discount on our not so great and expensive health insurance (I agree it’s better than a lot of people get but I pay a quarter of my paycheck every two weeks for it so my family can be insured). So us lower level employees participate because every penny counts, not necessarily because we agree with the health information they put out there.
“Social Engagement: Events and community spaces that foster connections among employees.”
Where and what the hell are they talking about? Is this the benefits fair? Or that they tried some “coffee with the CEO” thing awhile back that was a big fat bust because it was via zoom and you had to bring your own coffee. Most of my fellow employees thought it was an absolutely stupid attempt at engagement.
If any other county employees can enlightened me on these so called events I’d appreciate it. Because they aren’t advertised very well.
“Purpose and Well-being: Activities and resources that help employees find and pursue their purpose.”
Again what are these activities they keep talking about? I have never once in my 10 years seen the BOS and other high ups give an actual damn about our “purpose”. This quote is just more empty words that make them sound better.
“The County of Mendocino has numerous projects and programs that align with Blue Zones principles…”
“Leadership Initiative” – a program only designed for managers and higher ups, not for layman employees.
“comprehensive health benefits” – Like I said it’s not that great, high deductibles with high payments that take a high percentage of each paycheck.
“Employee Wellness Program” – The annual insurance discount program.
“Employee Assistance Program” – A limited amount of therapy sessions for free, just enough to get established with someone only for the free appointments to run out and hope you don’t need more or that you can afford to keep seeing the provider afterwards.
These things all sound great on paper, but if the people running this initiative wanted a clearer picture of what’s really going on, they should have interviewed county employees not just the BOS who are politicians good at polishing shit to make it look shiny.
(I typed all this out on my phone so I apologize for any grammatical errors.)
County-employee of 5 years…. I can second what you said. The insurance is horrible and over-priced. Props to HR, not the BOS for what the County does have in place. And yes, what are these “purpose & wellbeing” and “social engagement” activities they talk about? I’ve never heard of either one.
I agree whole heartily with what you said. I have been employed over 20+ years and it just gets worse, especially the morale around the building and with staff in general
As a 26 year County employee, well said and 100% spot on!
Um whut?
Blue zone? I’m confused. Mendocino County has already been formally named a Brown Zone …
https://open.substack.com/pub/truezonesolution/p/mendocino-county-supervisors-step?r=9zkg9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Omg that was hilarious!! Thank you so much!!!!
Also, for those arriving late to the party, scientists (in contrast to a single profiteering journalist) say blue zones are a marketing ploy and don’t actually exist …
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/13/world/australia/ig-nobel-awards.html
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2024/sep/ucl-demographers-work-debunking-blue-zone-regions-exceptional-lifespans-wins-ig-nobel-prize
Thank you employees for chiming in and its exactly what I suspected. County higher ups need to stop ego building and really do something. Bunch of blow hearts. And the empress continues to have no clothes (the kids book where one brave little boy stands up and points out the obvious).