Letter from CEO JD Hickey

Apr. 4, 2017

bcbst ceo jd hickey

Building better health through community and connection

No health challenge — or solution — exists in isolation.

The human body processes millions of sensory inputs even through the ordinary activities of life — eating, sleeping and laughing. And all those inputs connect to one another.better tennessee cover volume 3 issue 1

The start of an allergy attack feels a little different alongside endorphins from a brisk walk. What you ate for breakfast can affect how you respond to a challenge at work.

In the same way, no human life is disconnected from others.

We all live and work and play in communities.

That means we have the power to help one another — even strangers we’ll never meet — live healthier lives.

In a previous issue, Better Tennessee explored some external factors that can influence the health of individuals — things like affordability, geography and culture.

Now we’re taking a deeper dive to explore the health challenges facing one Tennessee community and how they’re creating programs that connect and build upon one another to support each resident’s journey to better health.

Think of Healthy Kingsport as both a catalyst for change and the connective tissue of a community growing a little healthier each day.

By highlighting their efforts, we hope to offer lessons that any Tennessee community can learn from and adopt.

We can improve the collective health of our state one small, connected step at a time, if we work together.

At BlueCross, through both business and philanthropy, we want to breathe life into these collaborative efforts.

We hope you’ll join us.

JD Hickey, MD
President & CEO