Currently Reading:
A Blue Zones Boosts
A Blue Zones Boosts
Image: From left to right, leaders of the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway are, Queena Tupou, Joseph Gomez, Tono Sablan, Taryn West, and Tammy Jones.
Sponsored by MultiCare Health System, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Pierce County, the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway is an initiative working to address local healthcare costs, improve economic and social vitality, and increase public awareness about health and well-being in Parkland. Blue Zones’ goal is clear and simple: help make Parkland and Spanaway healthier, happier, and more vibrant places to live.
Executive director and PLU alumnus Tono Sablan ’18 leads the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway. “Where I’m from — where my neighbors live — we’ll live up to 10 years less on average than anywhere else in Pierce County,” Sablan said in an in-depth feature in the Tacoma News Tribune. “That is incredibly concerning to me as a resident, and somebody who doesn’t plan on leaving. So we’re really energized, waking up every morning and trying to make some progress on that.”
Executive director and PLU alumnus Tono Sablan ’18 leads the Blue Zones Project Parkland-Spanaway. “Where I’m from — where my neighbors live — we’ll live up to 10 years less on average than anywhere else in Pierce County,” Sablan said in an in-depth feature in the Tacoma News Tribune. “That is incredibly concerning to me as a resident, and somebody who doesn’t plan on leaving. So we’re really energized, waking up every morning and trying to make some progress on that.”
The Parkland-Spanaway initiative is part of the larger Blue Zones Project, a national program that works to co-create and implement transformation programs to create sustainable, systems-level solutions that improve population health and economic vitality.
In September 2023, Blue Zones opened a field office in PLU’s Blomquist House. In its first year in Parkland-Spanaway, deputy director Queena Tupou says the organization has prioritized community engagement and education.
“We’ve been focused on the foundational work of connecting with community partners, making sure that they understand what the Blue Zones Project is doing in Parkland and Spanaway, and sharing the mission and model of this community-wide well-being initiative,” says Tupou.
In addition to setting up an office on the edge of the PLU campus, Blue Zones organizers have collaborated with staff from a wide range of university departments, including the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education, Campus Ministry, Human Resources, and the Wild Hope Center for Vocation. President Belton serves on the Blue Zones steering committee, and PLU is working to become the first Blue Zones certified work site in the Parkland area.
PLU: A Pierce County Anchor Institution
Undergraduate students from Pierce County (43% of Total)*
PLU Alumni Call Pierce County Home
Top Alumni Employers:
MultiCare | Tacoma Public Schools | Virginia Mason Franciscan Health | Bethel School District | Washington State Department of Social and Health Services | Pierce County | U.S. Army | City of Tacoma | Metro Parks Tacoma
*Based on 2023-24 academic year enrollment