Our mission is to ensure that children of low income and marginalized communities are at their healthiest, in spite of their zip codes.
The Issue
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics on premature deaths in the US:
- 10% related to medical care
- 20-30% result from genetics
- 60% are associated with social, environmental, and behavioral factors, commonly referred to as social determinants of health (SDoH)
Social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, and live. For too many families, the fate of their health is determined by these factors over which they have no control. These can include:
- Educational opportunities
- Occupation, employment status, and workplace safety
- Gender inequity
- Racial segregation
- Food insecurity and inaccessibility of nutritious food choices
- Access to housing and utility services
- Early childhood experiences and development
- Social support and community inclusivity
- Crime rates and exposure to violent behavior
- Availability of transportation
- Neighborhood conditions and physical environment
- Access to safe drinking water, clean air, and toxin-free environments
- Recreational and leisure opportunities
The Idea
Despite these statistics, the US healthcare industry continues to invest the majority of its $3 trillion annual spend on medical care, with less than 10% being spent on social services. It is clear by all objective measures that this reactive, cost-ineffective method of healthcare delivery has failed to improve overall health outcomes in our country.
At Choose To Love, Inc., we subscribe to the old adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In other words, it is better, easier, and cheaper to prevent an illness or problem from occurring than it is to try to treat or fix it once it has begun. To that end, our sole objective is to develop, implement, and provide funding for programs designed to improve the health outcomes of children by erasing the ill effects of their social determinants of health.
Through its flagship program, Breath of Life Asthma Initiative, Choose To Love, Inc. will provide asthma education along with services and supplies to decrease environmental allergens and triggers in children 0-18 years old with asthma.