Over 2,000 Atlantans flock to Central Park for second annual Sharecare Heartbeat Festival
Over 2,000 Atlantans gathered in Central Park in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood on April 23, for the second annual Sharecare Heartbeat Festival; a free, family-friendly event that provides a range of resources and activities to help each member of the community manage and improve their health.
Attendance for the Sharecare Heartbeat Festival doubled compared its inaugural year. The event was birth out of the Sharecare Movement – the joint initiative launched by Sharecare and the Atlanta Hawks to make Georgia one of the healthiest states and Atlanta one of the healthiest cities in the country.
“One of the core tenets of the Hawks’ organization is to be a valued community asset,” said Steve Koonin, CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. “Producing a great event in the Heartbeat Festival with a fantastic company like Sharecare, we are extremely fortunate to work with this homegrown partner to amplify the message of better health and wellness for everyone and that is clearly resonating throughout the city and state.”
Anchored by the Atlanta Hawks invitational 3vs3 basketball tournament, the Sharecare Heartbeat Festival offered attendees a range of activities to support healthy behavior, such as outdoor fitness classes with Planet Fitness; chair aerobics for seniors and CPR verification training with Nurse Noel; nutrition trivia from Emory Healthcare; healthy cooking demonstrations by Goodr; and juice tastings from Kale Me Krazy.
Services aimed at supporting those who are uninsured or may lack sufficient health insurance coverage also were available on site, including assistance with enrollment in Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, and care navigation for eligible individuals through CareSource; and Sharecare Rx, a new digital pharmacy savings card to help people save money on their prescription medications, available exclusively through the free Sharecare app.
Further, approximately 200 adults participated in free screenings and counseling at the festival to address factors associated with chronic conditions and care gaps such as stroke, blood pressure, memory, nutrition, and hearing.
Additionally, 45 children under the age of 18 received complimentary eye screenings from Vision to Learn, a not-for-profit organization which also provided free glasses prescriptions for 19 children who were found to need vision correction during their screenings at the Sharecare Heartbeat Festival.
“Partnerships like the Sharecare Movement are instrumental to achieving a healthier Georgia, and I commend Sharecare for helping us all realize what’s truly possible when we collaborate to make health resources more approachable and accessible,” said Frank W. Berry, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health. “While we still have work to do together, it’s important to reflect on the forward progress we’ve made in improving the wellbeing of our communities, and I thank Sharecare and the Hawks for playing a critical role in promoting and reinforcing such positive behaviors across the state.”
During the Sharecare Heartbeat Festival, it was announced that, according to the annual wellbeing index, the state of Georgia improved its overall ranking from No. 31 in 2017 to No. 23 in 2018, signifying an increase in overall wellbeing since the Sharecare Movement launched eighteen months ago. In recognition of the positive impact, Sharecare has made to improve health in the community, Natalie K. Hall, Commissioner of Fulton County District Four, presented Sharecare with a proclamation at the festival declaring Saturday, April 13, 2019, as “Sharecare Day.”
“The second annual Sharecare Heartbeat Festival marked an important milestone in our journey to improve wellbeing across the state, and we remain committed to making Georgia and Atlanta among the healthiest places to live in the country,” said Jeff Arnold, founder, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. “With partners like the Department of Community Health, the Atlanta Hawks and everyone who joined us in Central Park last weekend, that goal is within reach as, together, we are inspiring a movement to advance community-driven care in Georgia.”
