Building a Healthy Community

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a champion and advocate for everything and anything West Orange. I would argue that we have the best of everything in West Orange. 

I don’t make that claim lightly. I also don’t make it to be argumentative, and I certainly wouldn’t do so without having evidence to back it up, especially when it comes to healthcare and well-being options in West Orange, north and south. We are fortunate, because of the growth, to have the benefit of a constantly growing and ever-changing landscape of health and wellness choices. These include hospital systems, clinics, outdoor workout opportunities, indoor gyms and studios, and eateries catering to healthy lifestyles and so much more. 

These didn’t happen overnight. They have been developing, as our community has, for many decades now. We are fortunate to have the healthcare systems of AdventHealth and Orlando Health building facilities throughout West Orange, ranging from free-standing medical service buildings to medical office buildings, ERs and bed towers. We truly have world-class healthcare being provided to us, and that is an asset that will keep us thriving as a community.

In addition, we are lucky to have The West Orange Healthcare District, a Lifetime Member of our chamber, with its movement known as Healthy West Orange committed to making West Orange the healthiest community in the nation. I am proud to say that our board of directors, at the start of this movement, fully embraced it and endorses it to this day. The Healthy West Orange movement, with its own mascot known as Westley, supports a variety of programs and activities to encourage residents of West Orange by being a champion of healthy programs and inspiring healthy behaviors. 

Healthy West Orange also has its own app called Carrot. Everyone is encouraged to sign up and learn about healthy food options, fitness options, community challenges and events, all with the sole purpose of making us healthy. You can even participate in Octobearfest on Oct. 20.  You can also see Healthy West Orange at our chamber’s Best Fest — The Taste of West Orange on March 26, 2020 on Starke Lake in Ocoee.