GETTING ACTIVE OUTDOORS FOCUS OF STATE SURGEON GENERAL VISIT TO PINELLAS COUNTY 

Dunedin, Fla.— Today, State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong visited Pinellas County to highlight their commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles. Community leaders and residents joined County Health Department staff to celebrate the number of outdoor activities available in the area to get active and stay healthy. Attendees were led by Dr. Armstrong from Honeymoon Island State Park to Caladesi Island where participants strolled the beach collecting seashells—a fun way to get active.

The Health in All Places Tour is a chance for state, local and community leaders to come together to highlight what each coastal county has to offer when it comes to health. County Health Departments are located in each county and are charged with promoting health and providing necessary health services to their communities. This tour is a chance to highlight those services and how they move health forward in communities across Florida.

The department is offering free, broadcast-quality video for use by the media from this event. You will find 40 seconds of video followed by two soundbites from Dr. Armstrong at the FTP link https://ww10.doh.state.fl.us/pub/dohcomm/HIAP_PINELLAS.mp4. Below is a suggested script followed by verbatim from the soundbites.

PINELLAS COUNTY IS BEING HIGHLIGHTED BY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AS PART OF THE HEALTH IN ALL PLACES TOUR. TODAY, STATE SURGEON GENERAL AND SECRETARY OF HEALTH DOCTOR JOHN ARMSTRONG JOINED COMMUNITY LEADERS AND RESIDENTS AT HONEYMOON ISLAND STATE PARK WHERE THEY CELEBRATED THE VARIETY OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. PARTICIPANTS HAD THE CHANCE TO GET INVOLVED BY TAKING A FERRY RIDE TO CALADESI ISLAND TO COLLECT SEASHELLS. THIS IS ONE STOP IN A COMPREHENSIVE COASTAL TOUR TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE MANY ACTIVITIES FLORIDA HAS TO OFFER THAT ALLOW RESIDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET AND STAY HEALTHY.

NAME: Dr. John Armstrong/State Surgeon General/Florida Department of Health

LENGTH: 12

OC: “short of remarkable”

“It’s just to clear, the healthy choice is right in front of you, you just have to say yes. Going for a walk on the beach, a great activity, and you couple that with shelling and the results are nothing short of remarkable.”

NAME: Peter Krulder/Honeymoon Island State Park Manager

LENGTH: 18

OC: “much to offer”

“Getting out and playing you know we need to do this, we need to get our children out doing this and when you start them young, get the kids out young and playing, spend more time outdoors and off the video game, Florida has so much to offer.”

TAG: TODAY’S TOUR ALSO INCLUDES STOPS IN HERNANDO AND PASCO COUNTIES. THE HEALTH IN ALL PLACES TOUR IS SCHEDULED TO RUN THROUGH THE END OF OCTOBER WHERE IT WILL WRAP UP IN NASSAU COUNTY.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.