February is American Heart Health Month and all the students from the Ross Medical Education Center Fort Wayne, Indiana campus were able to participate in the “Love Your Heart Health Expo” at the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation. The expo was put together by Parkview Heart Institute and Parkview Physicians Group/Cardiology, and it was a free event open to the public. According to the organizers, there were approximately 400 people in attendance during the day session and 500 in the evening session. The aim of the expo was to help women identify and address their risk for developing heart disease.
According to the Parkview Heart institute website, “Heart disease is the number one killer of women.” So, it is important that Ross students, as future healthcare professionals, understand the importance of early detection and what that means for all of their patients, themselves, and their friends and family members. It was a great event for students from all of the Fort Wayne healthcare training programs to attend. Carsyn Heeter, evening student in the Medical Assistant program said, “it was fun and informative to go to this event. It is cool that Parkview cares about this topic so much that they did all this for free. I learned a lot about women’s heart health.”
The expo featured presentations: “Embracing Her Heart: The Mind-Body Connection” by Mark O’Shaughnessy, MD, Parkview Heart Institute and “Laughter Yoga 101” by Brad Harris, Certified Laugh Yoga Instructor. The expo also offered health screenings such as blood pressure and cholesterol screenings at no cost or reduced cost, learning centers featuring Parkview staff, and hand massages. The day students had a sit down lunch as part of the program and the evening students participated in the free hors d’oeuvres and desserts. The students also walked away with informative brochures and gift bags.