Vision & Purpose
Springfield Healthy Hearts is more than just a program.
Without change, the cost of cardiovascular disease is projected to reach around $22 billion per year by 2050. This is not just a financial issue, it reflects a growing number of people living with preventable illness, placing pressure on individuals, families and the healthcare system.
Many Australians are now developing risk factors for heart disease earlier in life. These risks are not only biological, but also shaped by everyday factors such as lifestyle, stress, and the environments people live in.
The impacts extend well beyond heart disease alone. Cardiovascular disease is linked to a higher risk of conditions such as diabetes, cancer and frailty, creating compounding effects for individuals and increasing demand across the health system.
At the same time, our current approach remains largely focused on treating illness once it occurs, rather than preventing it earlier and across whole communities. If this continues, the demand for hospital care and health services will outpace what the system can sustainably provide.
Good health underpins everything - our ability to work, connect, care for others and participate in community life. When large numbers of people experience declining health, the effects ripple across families, communities and the broader economy.
This is not a distant future problem. It is already emerging in communities across Australia.
What is needed now is a different approach — one that brings together health services, communities, organisations and research to prevent heart disease earlier, and at scale.
Our Purpose
To bring together community, schools, shops, sporting teams, businesses and organisations to understand what matters most for health, and to design, test and scale solutions that create lasting change - in and beyond Springfield.
Our Vision
To make Springfield a leading example of how communities can come together to create better health and wellbeing for all.
Springfield Healthy Hearts is game-changing; setting a gold standard for action on heart health by capitalising on Springfield as a living laboratory that uses real-world data to test interventions and monitor outcomes over time. We are turning our streets, schools, and parks into places where research becomes real life, and where healthier choices become easier.
We adopt a systems-based approach that partners with the community, including healthcare providers, businesses, schools and government, to demonstrate the value of a whole-of-city program for heart health, with learnings transferable and scalable to other communities across Australia and internationally.
Inspired by the renowned Framingham Heart Study, Springfield leads the way in demonstrating the value of coordinated, multi-layered approaches to heart health. The evidence generated informs decision-making across Australia and disrupts the policy inertia impeding positive action for heart health.
Our partnership with the Heart Foundation is key to realising this vision.
“Because together, we are greater than the sum of our hearts.”
— Adam Atherton, Springfield-based physiotherapist and Alliance member