When wealth becomes understood as ‘health’

By Dennis Archambault

The financial management firm, Brown Brothers Harriman, published an advertisement recently with the headline, “Preserve wealth. The best way to grow it.” The ad features a child carrying in a tray of young greens into a room where her mother was sorting through fresh vegetables. The ad copy ran:  “We start every day with one mission in mind: To protect and grow our clients wealth so it lasts for generations…”

If you take the same visual and change one word, you have an idea that we all can attest to: “Preserve health. The best way to grow it.” The child is discovering fresh greens and her mother is harvesting fresh vegetables – a great image of healthy eating. Disease prevention, health promotion and wellness, improved environmental quality, access to nutritious food.

The test would read: “We start every day with one mission in mind: To protect and grow our clients health so it lasts for generations.”

All it takes is for society to equate health with wealth and we’ll be much further ahead.

Dennis Archambault is vice president, Public Affairs, for Authority Health.