Marshall has launched Blue Zones Ignite, a new community initiative focused on improving well-being and making healthy living more accessible in El Dorado Hills. The program applies proven strategies to help people make healthier choices in the environments where they live, work, and spend the majority of their time. The initiative will begin with a readiness and feasibility study from September 16 to 18, aiming to explore how the area can be made healthier for people of all ages.
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The event will open with a public keynote on September 16 from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM at the Patra Corp. building, located at 4207 Town Center Boulevard, Building A, Suite 100 in El Dorado Hills. The keynote speaker will be Dan Buettner, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Blue Zones. Community members are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. During the multi-day study, residents may also be invited to take part in interviews, focus groups, or small group sessions to share their ideas and feedback on improving community health.
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Jonathan Russell, Chief Ambulatory Officer at Marshall, emphasized the organization’s commitment to supporting the health and well-being of the community. “Like Blue Zones, Marshall helps each community member live a healthier, more active, and longer life,” Russell said. “Our independence and local control are our strengths, allowing us to act quickly and effectively to meet our community’s needs in a way that larger healthcare systems can’t. Along with key partnerships that bring top-quality care to El Dorado County, our teams also go beyond the clinic to influence the environment where our community lives and works. Our local focus and national knowledge help us deliver care and outcomes that align with Blue Zones’ goals for population health.”
The Blue Zones model is built on decades of research led by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author, who identified five regions in the world where people consistently live longer, healthier lives. These areas, known as “Blue Zones,” form the foundation of a strategy that focuses on reshaping environments to naturally encourage healthier lifestyles. Rather than only targeting personal behavior, the approach involves changes to public spaces, local policies, and community systems to help people move more, eat better, and form stronger social connections. In past implementations, communities have seen significant improvements, such as lower obesity and smoking rates, increased local investment, more health funding, and lower healthcare expenses.
Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and co-founder of the Blue Zones Project, highlighted the significance of the partnership. “The Blue Zones Ignite launch in El Dorado Hills is built on the energy and vision of the local community, with Marshall providing trusted leadership every step of the way. Together, we are creating a plan for change based on our proven model that improves well-being through place-based and policy-driven strategies. Communities with higher well-being experience lower healthcare costs, greater productivity, and stronger civic involvement—and that’s what we’re working toward together,” Leedle said. As the assessment moves forward, the Blue Zones team will engage with key local stakeholders to identify current challenges and opportunities. The insights gathered will inform a data-driven action plan focused on improving health outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and fostering long-term economic growth, positioning El Dorado Hills as a model for community transformation.
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