FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – A major health summit happened on Tuesday in Clay County.
Health professionals met with county leaders in Fleming Island to discuss where the county needs to improve.
News4JAX talked to residents about why staying healthy is not always easy and finances can be a factor.
“Things have gone up $4-$5 for a gallon of milk. You can’t expect people to purchase that even if they have EBT. So it’s difficult sometimes to be healthy, even if you want to. We try and feed our kids organic, but you’re looking at a $700 a week grocery bill,” said Scott, a Clay County resident.
Leigh Florez pointed out the fact that Clay is a large county and areas like Keystone Heights, Fleming Island, Oakleaf, Orange Park and beyond aren’t all the same.
“Certain pockets have more activity and are healthier than others,” Florez said.
That’s why health leaders in the county convened.
They’re tackling four areas:
- Increase nutrition and recreation in Clay
- Cigarette and vaping use to lower those rates in Clay
- Decrease chronic disease like hypertension and cancer
- And promote healthy lifestyle changes
One area where there has been some improvement is public transportation. While it’s not stellar in Clay, there is now a bus stop at all the main county hospitals.
There is still a push for more walkability and sidewalks and more education on sexually transmitted infections
Then there’s smoking. Leaders want to push for more employers to become tobacco-free, but vaping is frankly a different animal.
“It has been a big problem for us. Cigarette usage has gone down, but vaping continues to increase,” said Irene Toto, CEO if Clay Behavioral Health Center.
The county is also looking to increase vaccination rates for HPV and pneumonia.