Living to 100 Club

Living to 100 Club


Open Source Wellness: A Behavioral Pharmacy that is Showing How to Improve Health

March 30, 2021

Open Source Wellness (OSW) is an innovative system that delivers a collection of health-related activities – from physical movement, mindfulness, and stress reduction to small group coaching, healthy meals, and peer support – to community settings, low-income housing, and medical clinics throughout the San Francisco Bay area and Washington state. Our guest is Dr. Ben Emmert-Aronson, a psychologist and co-founder of this multi-site health and coaching program.

Topics we discussed:

* What is Open Source Wellness and what activities are promoted for members?* How does a “behavioral pharmacy” deliver tools and strategies to change unhealthy behaviors and habits into more healthy ones? * Who are the typical members of these programs?* Two leading health recommendations: grab an apple and grab a friend.* OSW's very favorable outcomes to date, including significant reductions in hypertension, depression, and isolation, improved eating habits, and a 77% drop in ER visits for members

Dr. Emmert-Aronson shares the guiding beliefs and principles of OSW and discusses how his team meets the need for preventing and treating chronic disease.

Mini Bio

Benjamin Emmert-Aronson, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychologist who co-founded Open Source Wellness, which brings communities together around the behaviors that underlie health and wellbeing. Dr. Emmert-Aronson speaks nationally on the importance of daily behaviors in creating health, the ways that societal forces make it much harder for members of some communities to implement these behaviors, and the health disparity this causes.

Items Mentioned for Our Listeners

Pick up a copy of Dr. Casciani’s book: Living Longer IS the New Normal

Website for Open Source Wellness

Podcasting Award

The Living to 100 Club Podcast was recently selected among the Top 20 Aging Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021 by Feedspot RSS News Reader. Thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in, and to our guests for the great conversations.


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