BLUE ZONES PROJECT MONTEREY COUNTY PROUDLY CELEBRATES PORTOLA HOTEL & SPA AT MONTEREY BAY FOR BECOMING A BLUE ZONES PROJECT APPROVED WORKSITE   

Monterey, CA — December 14, 2022 - Blue Zones Project® - Monterey County is proud to announce that Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay has achieved designation as a Blue Zones Project Approved™ worksite. Portola Hotel & Spa implemented best practices to improve employee well-being. Blue Zones Project celebrates this achievement and acknowledges the commitment Portola Hotel & Spa has towards improving well-being for both their staff and their families.

Prioritizing employee health and well-being as an employer has been a top priority for Portola Hotel & Spa and joining Blue Zones Project was an easier step towards meeting their goals. At least 50 percent of their employees completed an ergonomic training and assessment. Hourly micro-breaks that focus on stretching became part of their daily routine and special parking spaces were implemented to park further from the hotel entrance to encourage natural movement. With a high percentage of Monterey County residents diagnosed with diabetes, the Portola Hotel & Spa offers weight management resources for all employees and on-site biometric screening to support their employee health and wellness goals.

Portola Hotel & Spa's participation with The Blue Zones Project was a natural fit for the AAA Four Diamond and US Green Building Council LEED® Certified hotel. "We strive to enhance our guests experience and explore opportunities and programs that benefit our staff. Following the progress and impact of The Blues Zones Project in our community led to conversations and a team commitment to certify the hotel," said Janine Chicourrat, Managing Director, Portola Hotel & Spa. Led by the hotel's Director of Human Resources, Dorian Oliphant, the Portola team spent the last year working with The Blue Zones Project to become an approved worksite. "We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of a program and organization that aligns with the core beliefs and wellness focus we value at Portola Hotel & Spa," said Oliphant.

The commitment from all the staff was key to complete approval, and the support from Jose Bautista, Human Resources Coordinator was instrumental in helping the Portola Hotel & Spa team cross the finish line and become a Blue Zones Project Approved™ worksite. From installing Blue Zones Project parking spaces to encourage employees to get more natural movement, to working with Blue Zones Project to coordinate beach clean-ups for staff, Jose was able to provide critical support to complete the approval process all while the Portola Hotel & Spa was in the midst of large-scale recruitment project.   
 

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ABOUT BLUE ZONES PROJECT MONTEREY COUNTY

Brought to Monterey County through an innovative sponsorship by Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Taylor Farms, and Montage Health in collaboration with Sharecare, Inc. and Blue Zones, LLC, Blue Zones Project® is a community-by-community well-being improvement initiative designed to enable community members to live longer, happier lives with lower rates of chronic diseases and a higher quality of life. Based on principles developed by Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author of "The Blue Zones" and "The Blue Zones Solution," Blue Zones Project is designed to designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to the built environment, policy and social networks. 

To learn more about Blue Zones Project, contact the Blue Zones Project team in Monterey County or visit info.bluezonesproject.com/montereycounty 
  
ABOUT BLUE ZONES PROJECT® BY SHARECARE

Blue Zones Project® by Sharecare is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city's environment, policy, and social networks. Blue Zones Project is based on research by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five cultures of the world—or blue zones —with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. The Project incorporates Buettner's findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. Blue Zones launched the first pilot community in 2009 in Albert Lea, MN with groundbreaking results. In partnership with Sharecare, the model has since been applied to more than 70 communities across North America, impacting more than 4.35 million citizens. For more information, visit www.bluezonesproject.com. The population health solution includes two Health Districts in California; 15 cities in Iowa; the city of Fort Worth, Texas; Corry, Pennsylvania; Brevard, North Carolina; Walla Walla Valley, Washington; and communities in Southwest Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin. 

For more information, visit sharecare.com/blue-zones-project
 
ABOUT SALINAS VALLEY MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSYTEM

Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS) is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the region through an integrated network of health care initiatives, services, and facilities. In addition to an acute care, public district hospital licensed for 263 beds, the system includes Salinas Valley Medical Clinic, a multi-location clinic expanding access to primary and specialty care and offers 13 urgent care locations. SVMHS is one of the area's largest employers with a staff of more than 2000 and is a leader in providing nationally recognized quality care. Collaboration is an important operating principle for SVMHS in such key areas as our Level III NICU which is operated in a joint venture with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford; The Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes, partnership with UCSF; Aspire Health Plan, Monterey County's only Medicare Advantage program; Community Health Innovations and Blue Zones Project Monterey County, building a community where people live longer and live healthier.

For more information, visit svmh.com 
 
ABOUT MONTAGE HEALTH

Montage Health is the local, nonprofit parent company of a family of organizations dedicated to improving lives by delivering exceptional care and inspiring the pursuit of optimal health. Through its subsidiaries and its partnerships with doctors and other clinicians, healthcare and community organizations, and, most importantly community members, Montage Health is dedicated to care that is coordinated across all care settings to meet each person's goals and needs. Montage Health companies include Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Montage Medical Group, Montage Health Foundation, Montage Wellness Center, Aspire Health, and MoGo Urgent Care.

For more information, visit montagehealth.org 
  
ABOUT TAYLOR FARMS

Taylor Farms is a leading North American producer of salads and healthy fresh foods with production facilities across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Taylor Farms is grounded in a commitment to quality, assured supply, innovation, sustainability, and food safety. Taylor Farms is family owned and based in "The Salad Bowl of the World" Salinas, California.

For more information, visit taylorfarms.com 
 
ABOUT THE PORTOLA HOTEL & SPA

Portola Hotel & Spa is California's premier family-friendly destination offering easy access to Monterey's most popular attractions. Leading the way as the Central Coast's first LEED® Certified hotel, Portola reflects unparalleled modern coastal luxury in downtown Monterey. The AAA Four Diamond hotel is the perfect coastal inspired escape, featuring 379 guest rooms and suites, and 60,000 square feet of meeting space with the adjacent Monterey Conference Center. The serene environment and pet-friendly accommodations offer several on-site, award-winning amenities including, Spa on the Plaza, an outdoor pool, exceptional dining, a craft brewery, a children's loyalty program, and more. 

For more information, please visit portolahotel.com. 

MEDIA CONTACTS

Blue Zones Project - Monterey County  
Veronica Plascencia
[email protected]
(831) 241-0561

Portola Hotel & Spa
Janine M. Chicourrat, Managing Director
[email protected] 
(831) 649-7890