Bridging the Great Health Divide: Creating a healthier Memphis

For many years Memphis has ranked high in obesity. One health care provider is hoping to make Memphis healthier by taking on a different approach and going to patients instead of waiting for them to see a doctor.

“What we’ve seen is that about one in three people is obese here in Memphis, one in five is diabetic,” said Life Doc Executive Director Pedro Velasquez Jr.

Velasquez says they came up with Wave of Health, a proactive step before a doctor’s visit.

“We wanted to change it up a bit to see if there’s a way that we can go to where they are, meet them where they’re at, and bring awareness to certain things they need to address,” said Velasquez.

Wave of Health launched as a pilot program in October of 2019 at two Green Dot Schools.

“We launched in two of their five schools, and that included a monthly distribution of healthy food, screenings, education with nutrition education,” said Velasquez. Read more