FGCU launches regional initiative to help Southwest Floridians live longer and healthier lives

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— Leaders across Southwest Florida are coming together with a bold goal: not just helping people live longer, but helping them live better.

At Florida Gulf Coast University, the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging is leading a new regional effort aimed at extending the number of healthy years people live, known as “healthspan.” The initiative, called the Southwest Florida Healthspan Partnership, officially launched this week, bringing together hundreds of leaders from healthcare, education, business and government.

Their goal is to increase healthspan in the region by seven years by 2040.

While people in Southwest Florida are already living longer than the national average, experts say there’s still a major gap between how long people live and how long they stay healthy. On average, residents live into their 80s, but spend more than a decade managing serious illness or disability, something leaders say needs to change.

“We just don’t want to add years to life, we want to add quality years of life,” said Shawn Felton, dean of FGCU’s Marieb College of Health & Human Services.

Felton says improving healthspan goes far beyond traditional healthcare.

“It doesn’t just begin at the aging aspect or at the retiree area,” he said. “It really begins in our public schools. It’s about workforce development. It’s about social isolation.”

The launch event also featured keynote speaker Ken Dychtwald, a psychologist and internationally recognized expert on aging and longevity. He says the world is experiencing a major shift in how people age.

“For most of human history, the average life expectancy was under 25,” Dychtwald said. “Now, living to 80, 90, or even 100 is becoming commonplace.”

But he says living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living well.

“Healthspan is how many of those years you’re in vibrant, vital health,” he explained. “And we have a lot of improving to do.”

According to Dychtwald, the United States ranks behind dozens of other countries when it comes to both lifespan and healthspan. He believes regions like Southwest Florida have a unique opportunity to lead by example.

With one of the largest aging populations in the country, Southwest Florida is being seen as a testing ground for what a healthier future could look like.

“This region has a higher percentage of older people than most anywhere in the world,” Dychtwald said. “So we can either see that as a challenge or as an opportunity to lead.”

Organizers say the initiative is designed to bring together leaders across multiple industries to create long-term change. It will focus not just on healthcare, but also on factors like mental health, social connection, education and access to resources.

“There’s not one magic piece,” Felton said. “There are a lot of areas that, in totality, will move this forward.”

Experts say one of the most overlooked factors in healthy aging is something simple: having a sense of purpose.

“What I’ve learned in 50 years in this field is that it’s often the relationships we have… and having a purpose,” Dychtwald said. “Longevity is fueled by purpose.”

That message may be especially important in Southwest Florida, where many retirees are adjusting to life after leaving the workforce.

Leaders say this week’s launch is just the beginning, with more collaboration, research and community involvement expected in the coming years as they work toward their 2040 goal. They hope the effort will not only improve lives locally, but also serve as a model for the rest of the country, showing what it looks like to live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.

You can learn more at https://www.fgcu.edu/mariebcollege/aging/.