In December 2020, Healthy Klamath, Sky Lakes Medical Center, Sharecare, Inc. and Blue Zones, LLC announced that Klamath Falls has achieved certified Blue Zones Community^® status. The certification recognizes Klamath Falls’ community well-being transformation through successful implementation of the Blue Zones Project^® by Sharecare, a first-of-its-kind population health program that brings evidence-based best practices in built environment, policy, and social networks to participating cities.

“We are proud of Klamath Falls for achieving this milestone and honored to be recognized as the first certified Blue Zones Community in the Pacific Northwest,” said Klamath Falls Mayor, Carol Westfall.

Brought to Oregon through an innovative sponsorship by Cambia Health Foundation in collaboration with Sharecare and Blue Zones, the local Blue Zones Project initiative encourages all Oregon communities to optimize their surroundings to make the healthy choice the easy choice. The project is a privately led, publicly endorsed initiative intended to inspire community members to improve their well-being.

Cambia Health Foundation, Sky Lakes Medical Center, Cascade Health Alliance, the City of Klamath Falls, and Klamath County provided financial backing to support the project in Klamath Falls.

In 2015, Klamath Falls was selected to be the first Blue Zones Project demonstration site in the Pacific Northwest. Since then, local leaders, volunteers, and organizations throughout the community have worked to achieve certification status. As a result of its efforts, Klamath Falls can celebrate:

• More than $1.3 million in grant funding to support community well-being projects including Safe Routes to Parks, Safe Routes to Schools, a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program (resulting in a nearly 80 percent reduction in tobacco litter downtown), supporting a preventative food pantry, increasing wayfinding signage, and increasing park access.
• New ordinances that are paving the way for smoking cessation and tobacco prevention through smoke-free city parks, smoke-free events, and increased education around smoking cessation, leading to a 24 percent decrease in smoking rates since 2015.
• New city policies that support healthy eating through the creation of the county food policy council, the county nutrition options resolution, and the adoption of many healthy meeting protocols in workplaces across the community.
• Increased physical activity among approximately 4,400 students in the local schools by participating in Walking School Bus Days.
• Twelve approved restaurants that offer a combined 37 new healthier menu items for adults and children. Klamath Falls has also become home to a vegan eatery and juicing company, offering even more options to the community’s residents.
• Increased demand for produce, which prompted a regionally owned grocery store to increase its produce section resulting in a 12% increase in produce sales.
• More than 1,113 individuals joined a Moai^® walking group that promotes building friendships and moving naturally.
• More than 715 individuals have volunteered to support the Blue Zones Project in Klamath Falls.

Read the full press release here.