There are less cars here than in 1997. Presentation: Total Health and Transportation

This is the view from Arlington, Virginia’s nationally significant Mobility Lab (@MobilityLabTeam), which I have written about previously on this blog..

Keith Montgomery (@kmontgomeryndc), the Executive Director of the Center for Total Health (@kptotalhealth) had the opportunity to present to the lab on October 10, from which this photograph was taken. The theme was along the lines of “Why a doctor and a health system executive would be interested in transportation.” Our slides are below, mine are a remix of a few other presentations with a few new images, with Keith contributing a set about how this touches employers and other sponsors of health coverage:

Transportation and Total Health – Arlington Mobility Lab Lunch and Learn from Ted Eytan

As it says above, in a world where our medical care system (more #1’s in HEDIS than any other health plan in the United States, every one of our health plans is rated 5 stars by Medicare, the #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 rated plans by NCQA for Medicare are all Kaiser Permanente) is achieving unheard of success in health care, it is natural that an interest in total health leads to the other 80% of things that keep people healthy. This is where transportation fits in.

Note in one of the images above, from 1992. That’s Logan Circle – just notice how many cars are in that picture. Our cities are not just changing, they have changed.

The Washington, DC metro area in many ways is a lab for the future of society. We are leading the nation in being car-free, and we’re being studied as a model for other cities. This is a part of producing health for us, it should be for any doctor or health system. And, of course, I am one of the 37% of households in DC without private vehicle ownership. Thanks again for having us, Mobility Lab, and being part of our community’s extended care team!

Photos of us in action are below, courtesy of photographer M.V. Jantzen. And yes, we are from the future.

1 Comment

Ted Eytan, MD