Adam: championing community-led heart health innovation

Why Adam backs Springfield Healthy Hearts

As a long-time healthcare leader in Springfield, Adam has witnessed the growing pressure on communities to stay healthy in a fast-paced world. Alongside his wife Emma, Managing Director of Liberty Women’s Wellness, he’s spent over 20 years championing preventive, community-first care.

The couple quickly recognised the promise of Springfield Healthy Hearts – a bold Heart Foundation Catalyst initiative aiming to transform cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention through coordinated, community-wide action. More than a program, it’s a living laboratory trialling technologies and interventions in real-life settings.

“Springfield Healthy Hearts brings together local doctors, physios, schools, gyms, cafes and workplaces to make heart health programs more accessible,” Adam explains. “It’s not about one-off events — it’s about embedding long-term change to make healthy choices easier and improve lives at every stage.”

The power of the living lab

Adam is proud to see Springfield become a testbed for innovation – where researchers, businesses, and government work together to solve real-world problems through overlapping, city-wide initiatives. Crucially, it draws on residents’ lived experience to co-design solutions.

“There’s real commitment here – over 1,500 people have already had input into the topics and outcomes to improve health in Springfield.”

The initiative is also attracting researchers, innovators and decision-makers from across Australia – and the world – to learn from what works here. For Adam, this open, flexible model is exactly what’s needed to address long-standing challenges in CVD prevention – especially in fast-growing urban areas like Springfield, where traditional health services often lag behind population growth.

Scaling innovation, community by community

For Adam, Springfield Healthy Hearts is a blueprint for future cities – developing a scalable CVD prevention model that adapts to each community while staying grounded in evidence and partnerships.

As Australia’s youngest Local Government Area, Springfield’s strong infrastructure and rapid growth make it an ideal testing ground. Success here could show how a city can move together to prevent disease, influencing smarter policy and practice in other cities.

“Springfield Healthy Hearts can bring hope – and better health - not just for our city, but for every growing city in Australia and beyond.”

Funding this Catalyst project means investing in smarter, community-wide initiatives to improve heart health. Help demonstrate the potential impact coordinated action could have on cities everywhere. Learn more about our Catalyst Partner.