What is Live Better?

Live Better is an Archbold-led collaborative of key community leaders and partners focused on improving the overall health of the citizens of Thomas County, Georgia, that was formed in 2016.

Live Better was formed as part of a challenge by former Archbold Medical Center President and CEO Perry Mustian for Archbold to do even more to improve community health. Archbold has always had some form of clinical outreach, most often offered in the form of early identification efforts such as free screenings, prevention efforts such as branded Health Talks, or interventional education like breastfeeding or smoking cessation classes. While those efforts have had positive impacts on individuals from time to time, Mustian issued a challenge: figure out a way to do more to really move the needle on measurably improving the health issues that are in our community.

Live Better Goals

One way we create legitimacy and accountability in every aspect of the program is to create measurable goals. We create separate goals for adults and children because it takes different approaches to find success for different age groups. We decided not to focus on epidemiological data as we can’t measure our efforts until years later, negating any opportunity to quickly adjust our strategies and tactics if we see indicators of unsuccessful approaches. Instead, we measure goal progress using near real-time data from local physician practices and a federally qualified health center.

Three years later, we have reached more people, established new alliances, had the opportunity to influence city planning and our built environment, and develop new methods of clinical outreach. We have a more engaged community coming together around a common theme: Live Better.