LIVEWe're creating Doctors' Orders, a video series to help LA become proactive about health and wellness
Doctors' Orders is a powerful new video series for Los Angeles that will educate on diseases, preventative care and living a healthy lifestyle. Because proactive health care saves lives!
Are any other organizations collaborating on this proposal?
The City of Hope, Methodist Hospital of Southern California, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, The University of Southern California, UCLA, Senior Concerns of the Conejo Valley, The American Red Cross, The Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, The Race to Erase MS, Congress Medical, The Arcadia Fire Department
Please describe your project proposal.
Doctors' Orders is an innovative video series that features physicians, patients and researchers educating on health conditions including obesity, heart disease and mental illness. We have completed the first four half-hour episodes and will make the series available to the county health departments in Los Angeles so that while patients are in waiting rooms they can learn about the link between obesity and cancer, how to spot depression in a loved one, and what to do for a diabetic relative.
Which of the LIVE metrics will your proposal impact?
Obesity
Residents receiving coordinated healthcare services
Mental illness
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
San Gabriel Valley
San Fernando Valley
South LA
Westside
South Bay
County of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles
Describe in greater detail how your proposal will make LA the best place to LIVE?
Doctors’ Orders has the ability to impact millions who LIVE in LA by encouraging and teaching them to live healthier lives.
The Obesity Metric shows that so many people in our city need to lose weight, but also need solid tools and ideas for changing their habits. Our obesity episode will give them those tools, delivered in a clinic setting where they happen to take a child for an immunization. They can learn simple tricks and substitutions that can add up to big changes over a year. And they can get solid facts on how extra weight is affecting their heart, blood sugar and blood pressure. As other organizations are expanding access to healthy food choices, we can help inspire people to put more fruits and vegetables on their plates because they understand the profound impact it can have on disease prevention.
The series will also support the metric on Mental Illness by teaching families how to recognize the signs of depression, bi-polar disorder and chronic anxiety. Real people share their stories of facing a mental health issue and improving their lives with treatment. Lowering the stigma on mental illness starts with education, and can save not only personal suffering, but many lives.
The metric on Coordinated Health Care Services begins with patients understanding better what they need and asking for it. If a person knows they are having symptoms of type 2 diabetes, they can advocate to their primary care physician and push to get a referral to an endocrinologist. Patients being proactive can force the system to expand care and work as a team.
Each show is documentary in style, filled with personal stories and experts in each field so that our citizens have the knowledge and the courage to be proactive about their health and less afraid. Once the series is completed, we hope to get a spot on PBS to expand its reach and impact.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.
The first measure of success is to complete the 13-episode series and distribute it. We hope to get a broadcast contract with PBS so that funding is in place for the second group of episodes. Our real success will be the distribution into the county health departments of the greater Los Angeles area so that it can be seen throughout the next year. Feedback from patients, doctors and organizations will help us to evaluate and expand our shows to fit the needs of the community.
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed?
Money
Volunteers
Advisors/board members
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles