Irving ISD has partnered with the Irving Hospital Authority on behalf of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving, Irving Marathon, and the City of Irving to launch Blue Zones Ignite in Irving to help determine how to make the city of Irving a healthier place to live, work, grow up and grow older.
“As someone who has championed wellness across Irving ISD for many years, I’m elated to see Blue Zones becoming a reality for our entire community,” says Irving ISD Superintendent of Schools Magda A. Hernández. “It’s an initiative I have felt passionately about from the start, and we’re proud to invest in it because our staff, students, families and community deserve opportunities to live healthier and longer fulfilling lives. Together, we’re building a brighter, healthier future for the city of Irving.”
The effort begins with a 6-month in-depth readiness and feasibility assessment of the region. Blue Zones, the global leader in longevity research and community well-being transformation, uses an evidence-based, environmental approach to making healthy choices easier in the places and spaces where people spend the most time. Blue Zones will work with community leaders to conduct a local assessment and build a plan for change.
The Blue Zones approach is based on 25 years of research and scientifically proven lessons of longevity, health and happiness from the longest-living communities in the world, and their work transforming well-being at the population level in more than 75 communities across the country.
Blue Zones focuses on the single largest determinant of health: the place we live. Instead of focusing solely on individual behavior change, Blue Zones helps communities make permanent and semi-permanent changes to policies, systems, streets, surroundings and social networks so it’s easier for residents to eat wisely, move naturally and connect more with others as they move throughout their day. By improving the Life Radius® — the area close to home where most Americans spend 90% of their lives — Blue Zones transformations have been able to move the needle dramatically in improving overall population health and well-being. Participating communities have seen double-digit drops in obesity and smoking rates, economic investment in downtown corridors, grant funding awards to support policies and programs to improve health equity, and measurable savings in healthcare costs.
“We are looking forward to collaborating with community leaders to create a transformation plan that will generate lasting positive change for everyone,” says Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and Co-founder of Blue Zones Project. “By applying the time-tested principles of Blue Zones, we help communities create supportive environments and a culture where healthy living is the norm. Research shows this leads to healthier and happier residents, employees, and students, which also leads to a more vibrant economy.”
The Blue Zones expert team will connect with Irving leaders and organizations to begin immediate work assessing the strengths, needs and challenges that residents are facing today. Blue Zones will then create a transformation plan that, once implemented, can drive widespread improvements in well-being, reductions in healthcare costs, and improve economic vitality in the region.
“Helping our communities live well is central to our mission at Baylor Scott & White, and our commitment to improving lives in the areas we serve will be strengthened by this collective effort,” says Cindy Schamp, president of Baylor Scott & White – Irving which serves Irving, Las Colinas, Coppell, Grand Prairie and the surrounding communities.
The collaborating entities will host a Blue Zones Keynote event on Wednesday, December 4, at the Magda A. Hernández Institute of Wellness and Professional Learning (located at 4615 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX 75038). Registration, refreshments and networking are from 4 to 5 PM with the Program from 5 to 6:30 PM.
National speaker Margaret Brown will present the research on the longest-lived and healthiest places in the world, as well as the common lifestyle and cultural traits of those regions. Attendees will also learn how these traits have been implemented in communities throughout the United States and what communities can do to promote health and well-being.
For more information about the keynote and the Blue Zones initiative in Irving, visit BlueZones.com/Ignite-Irving
About Blue Zones
Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company’s work is rooted in explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in blue zones regions around the world, where people live extraordinarily long and/or happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner’s bestselling books The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, The Blue Zones, Thrive, Blue Zones Kitchen, Blue Zones Challenge, and Blue Zones American Kitchen — all published by National Geographic books. An Emmy Award-winning docuseries, “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” was released on Netflix in 2023. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones works with cities and counties to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to our human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double-digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs. For more information, visit BlueZones.com.
About Irving Independent School District
Irving ISD’s award-winning schools serve approximately 31,000 PreK-12 students with more than 4,000 dedicated employees. The district is comprised of 35 campuses that cover more than 5.15 million square feet across 613 acres. Irving ISD is committed to setting every student up for success, equipping them to reach their maximum potential by hiring the best teachers, placing students in technology-rich classrooms and integrating real-world experiences into our curriculum. Our commitment starts early with 3-year-olds attending pre-kindergarten classes and ends with the opportunity to earn industry certifications and associate’s degrees while in high school.
Irving ISD began implementing wellness and self-care initiatives for students and staff before the terms became a buzzword in 2020. The ideas, spearheaded by Superintendent Hernández, have blossomed into something truly transformative with the opening of the Magda A. Hernández Institute of Wellness and Professional Learning, also known as MAHI, in July 2024.
The two-story building, which opened last month, features a room for wellness activities, a designated meditation space, an outdoor patio open for events and classes, and reservation-based complimentary wellness offerings (such as, but not limited to, yoga, fitness, nutrition, financial literacy classes and more). The offerings of this beautiful facility are all aimed at enhancing the well-being and professional growth of the Irving ISD family and incorporating wellness into everyday life and the district culture. Learn more about the facility at IrvingISD.net/MAHI.
