It may look like all fun and games to some, but the new Healthier 757, Rewards for Healthy Living community platform is all about a serious matter: improving the health of people in Hampton Roads.
And it’s free for those who live in the region, thanks to support from a range of stakeholders.
The game-based platform was launched at the beginning of 2020 by EdLogics, a Virginia Beach digital health communication company started by Tom Chamberlain in 2012.
The nonprofit arm of the company is managed by Global Action Platform in Nashville, Tennessee.
J.R. Locke, EdLogics’ vice president of community development, said the platform lets participants go online, play games, win cash prizes and learn about their health.
“It’s designed to increase awareness, communication, education engagement, and really initiate behavior change for citizens of our community,” Locke said. “Our plan is to make Hampton Roads a model of innovation for improving healthcare across the nation.”
If that goal is met, it’s likely that the region’s economic health would improve, too.
According to a news release, American taxpayers pay approximately $238 billion a year in unnecessary medical costs.
And since the pandemic infiltrated the U.S., EdLogics’ new platform takes on an even deeper meaning.
“We have, for example, over 80 different modules that range from cancer to diabetes to hypertension, to food insecurities, and a number of medical platforms where people can go on and learn about their health and play games,” Locke said.
EdLogics maintains a commercial gamified customizable platform — with both web- and mobile-compatible games and tools — that presents ways for employers, universities, school systems and communities to improve health literacy.
“Our goal was to offer it to employers who wanted to offer it to their employees, so that they can train a healthier workforce,” Locke said. “With a healthier workforce you will have less absenteeism, which includes greater productivity from your employees.”
TowneBank, AllFirst and the Port of Virginia all use the employer-based platform.
Both platforms enable participants to learn how to manage their health, change behaviors, live longer and healthier lives, and save money on healthcare costs in fun and engaging ways.
On rewardsforhealthyliving.com, users can answer a daily question, track a weekly workout, compete with friends, take quizzes, accept challenges and collect scavenger hunt items.
There are also cash rewards and other prizes associated with Healthier 757.
“Every correct answer you get earns you a ticket into the lottery held at the end of the month,” Locke said.
Michela Jones, 17, a rising senior at Norfolk Academy not only registered for Healthier 757, she became one of its student ambassadors helping to get the word out.
“I think the games really help to engage audiences of all kinds, and the platform teaches health literacy in an easy and fun way,” Jones said.
Michela said she learned a lot about Alzheimer’s, a disease her grandmother has.
She also said the platform has helped her deal with the stress and anxiety she has felt surrounding the pandemic.
Locke said plans are to roll it out in other cities across the U.S.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-222-5356, [email protected]
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