Indicators of a healthy and sustainable community. The Central Florida experience

The society, economy, and health and well-being of residents in the Central Florida region create a holistic perspective of a healthy community. This article discusses the important role health care organizations play in developing and creating healthy communities. It also discusses the responsibility health care providers in the Central Florida region have to the communities they serve using this broad-based approach to a healthy community. A history is presented showing how a local initiative to develop a healthier community led to the development of several healthy community indicators for the Central Florida region. The article delineates how the indicators reflect the health and long-term viability of the 7 counties comprising the Central Florida region. A number of public policy implications and the role of the region's health care system in furthering these indicators are presented for the broadly defined categories of crime, education, the local economy, and transporation.