by Jared Rutecki
In observance of Go Red for Women Day, OU-COM’s Community Health
Programs (CHP) is sponsoring health education and screenings to
promote women’s heart health.
The Go Red for Women campaign, started by the American Heart
Association,
began
in February 2004 to raise awareness about heart disease, the No.
1 killer of women, which claims the lives of more than 480,000
women annually. February’s Go Red for Women Day provides tips
and information on healthy eating, exercise, and risk factor
reduction, such as smoking cessation, weight maintenance, blood
pressure control and cholesterol management for women.
This
year, Go Red for Women Day is Feb. 2, and is marked by wearing
red to signify the power of women to change their own health for
the better.
Janice Smith,
CHP certified medical assistant, is speaking to high school
girls at Vern Riffe Vocational School on the importance of
living heart healthy lives on Go Red Day.
“The
adult population may be aware of the Go Red for Women campaign,
but heart health is important for high school students as well,”
Smith says. “This presentation is an opportunity for students to
learn how to make an important difference in their health.”
Smith
will also address breast and cervical cancer prevention.
“We
teach the girls how to perform monthly self-breast exams,” she
says. “They learn facts about breast and cervical cancer. We
perform this program in 10 other counties in Southeast Ohio,
which is supported by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation.”
As part
of its Go Red for Women observation, CHP also will provide free
cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure screenings via its
Mobile Health Van. The screenings will take place at the Athens
and Nelsonville Kroger supermarkets from 9 a.m. to noon Friday,
Feb. 16, in Athens and Wednesday, Feb. 28, in Nelsonville.
In
addition to events sponsored by CHP, the Cornwell Center at
O’Bleness Memorial Hospital is holding a full day of health
education videos and screenings, and a lecture, “Take Diabetes
to Heart,” by Mitchell Silver, D.O. (’89), Mid Ohio
Cardiology, and Vascular Consultants, and Frank Schwartz,
M.D., OU-COM associate professor of endocrinology, from 2 to
3 p.m.
For
more information about Go Red for Women, please visit
www.goredforwomen.org.
- 30 -
News for the week of Jan 29 – Feb 3
