Where you live impacts your health and even life expectancy. It’s part of what’s known as the Social Determinants of Health. While eating right and exercise is important, it’s only part of the equation that determines someone’s health and healing.
Dr. Jennifer Walthall, Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, will talk about Social Determinants of Health at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24 at CICOA, 8440 Woodfield Crossing Blvd., Indianapolis.
The lecture, which is open to the public, is the first in a four-part Envision Lecture Series CICOA is sponsoring in 2019. The cost to attend is $10 and students are free. To register, go to cicoa.org/events/envision.
Walthall said when she learned about the social determinants of health, it rocked her world and informed her career path. A native of northwest Indiana, Walthall received her medical degree at Indiana University Medical School, where she is professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics in addition to her role at FSSA.
“She will leave you thinking in a whole new way about how to improve population health in Indiana, particularly among our most vulnerable Hoosier citizens,” said CICOA CEO Orion Bell.
CICOA decided to launch the Envision Lecture Series to better engage and inform stakeholders and community leaders interested in improving the health and quality of life for seniors and people with disabilities.
The second Envision Lecture on April 25 will address “Mental Health and the Aging Brain” and feature a panel of experts including psychiatrists Dr. Drew Class and Dr. Donald Hay, and Todd Wagoner, a social worker at Community Health’s Healthy Aging Transition Services (HATS).
Two more Envision Lectures are planned for July and November.
About CICOA
CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions is a non-profit organization and the designated Aging and Disability Resource Center serving Central Indiana. CICOA provides a wide range of services for older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers, including care management, home health care, home-delivered and neighborhood meals, transportation, home accessibility modifications, respite care and caregiver assistance. For more information, go to CICOA.org.