Ex-President Clinton Thrilled With Inaugural Health Matters Conference

Celebrities and politicians gathered together on Tuesday to encourage healthy living.

The inaugural Health Matters conference was held at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, and more than 200 doctors, industry professionals, and athletes brainstormed ideas to create a healthier community.

Former President Bill Clinton delivered a passionate opening message, and its core was the challenge to create a healthier young generation.

“They want to make a change,” said Azalia Camacho, a student at Indio Middle School. “They inspire us to actually go out and tell our peers what’s going on in our community and what we can we can do for better health.”

Attendees said that a tough economy presents an obstacle towards healthier lifestyles.

Community advocates hope the healthy choices discussed at the Inaugural Health Matters conference will continue well past the event.

“Every single one of us is a patient,” said a woman in the crowd who addressed the panel.

Every single person in the audience and all of those who watched the event streaming live online, have a stake in health, organizers said.

“You must provide community benefit,” said another attendee from the crowd.

“This (conference) has exceeded my wildest expectations,” said president Clinton.

From former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, to PGA golfer Notah Begay III and actors Goldie Hawn and Reed Alexander, the panel represented a cross-section of America, who discussed solutions to ending childhood obesity and ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle through adulthood.

“Behavior change in health is really what it takes for progress to be made in this area,” said Ed Farley, of Humana.

The inaugural Health Matters conference kicked off the Humana Challenge PGA Tour event, in partnership with the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

“Golf is a great sport in terms of representing some of these ideas, because it is probably the only sport that I can think of where the fans are actually getting exercise while the players do,” said Mike McCallister, president of Humana.

The event started in the morning and lasted through the early evening.

“Thank you,” Clinton said to a cheering crowd at the end of the conference.

But the president said the hard work began as soon as he and the rest of the panel exited the stage and begin to design ways to put all of the ideas collected into action.