Spirit of the Heart: 7 Steps to a Healthy Heart: A Community Call to Action
Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., joins forces with
Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project Clergy Leaders
to Educate Community About Heart Health
2-Day Event Brings FREE Heart Screenings and Awareness Campaign to San Diego, CA
SAN DIEGO, Calif., May 9, 2016 – African Americans in Southeastern San Diego are more likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes than residents anywhere else in San Diego County. Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15, 2016, the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), Inc., will join forces with Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project Faith Leaders and with local experts, Robert Gillespie, MD, FACC and Rodney Hood, MD, FACP to help educate community residents about heart health and provide screenings to those at high risk.
According to the CDC, nearly 44 percent of African American men and 48 percent of African American women have some form of cardiovascular disease that includes heart disease and stroke.
“The Association of Black Cardiologists’ longstanding mission has been to promote the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in Blacks and other minorities. The Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project exemplifies this in every possible way. The synergy is a natural fit,” said Dr. Robert Gillespie, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board for ABC.
Saturday, May 14 a Health Fair will be held at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation at 404 Euclid Avenue, San Diego, and will offer participants health assessments, consultations with healthcare professionals, and an opportunity to hear local physicians Robert Gillespie, MD, FACC, Rodney Hood, MD, FACP, Suzanne Afflalo, MD, and Jerome Robinson, MD, FACC, talk about how to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Sunday, May 15 the ABC and local Heart Care Champions will partner with SESD Cardiac Disparities Project Clergy Leaders from landmark African American churches and mosques for a faith-based educational ‘message from the pulpit’, delivering ABC’s ‘seven steps to a healthy heart’ message(s) about behavior modification, nutrition, etc.
“Psalm 51:10 says create in me a Clean Heart, renew me in the right spirit,’’ said Reverend Gerald W. Brown, Executive Director of United African American Ministerial Action Council and SESD Cardiac Disparities Project Faith-Based Heart Health Champion. “We believe that each person is born with dignity and divinity with purpose. Chronic heart disease has robbed so many in our community of the greatest joy of fulfilling their purpose. We will no longer sit idly by. We are extremely proud to partner with the Association of Black Cardiologist and Be There San Diego for the ‘Spirit of the Heart 2016’. We want to ‘Be There’ for every member of our community to lift them to their greatness in health.”
Schedule of Events:
Saturday, May 14, 2016 1:00PM to 5:00PM
WHO: Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., and Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project
WHAT: Spirit of the Heart Free Health Screenings
WHERE: Jacob Center for Neighborhood Innovation 404 Euclid Avenue, San Diego CA 92114
Sunday, May 15, 2016 (times to be announced)
WHO: Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc., and Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project
WHAT: Message from the Pulpits at Community Churches
WHERE: See faith-based organizations below:
WHERE: See faith-based organizations below:
Total Deliverance Worship Center (2774 Sweetwater Springs Blvd, Spring Valley, CA 91977)
True Faith Missionary Baptist Church (4100 Poplar Street, San Diego, CA 92105)
Encanto Southern Baptist Church (6020 Akins Avenue, San Diego, CA 92114)
Muhammad Mosque #8 (6601 Imperial Avenue, San Diego, CA 92114)
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Spirit of the Heart: 7 Steps to a Healthy Heart: A Community Call to Action San Diego Partners
The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), located in New York, NY, was founded in 1974 to bring special attention to the adverse impact of cardiovascular disease on African Americans. A nonprofit organization, the ABC has an international membership of 1,500 health professionals, lay members of the community (Community Health Advocates), corporate members and institutional members. Our mission is “to promote the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, including stroke, in blacks and other minorities and to achieve health equity for all through the elimination of disparities.” The ABC’s deep roots in the community anchor the 7 Steps to a Healthy Heart focusing on the daily practice of cardiovascular risk factor control, and its education initiatives are further enriched through continuing medical education and clinical research. The ABC has always advocated for better health care for all embodied in the tagline: Saving the hearts and minds of a diverse America. For more information, please call 800-753-9222 or visithttp://www.abcardio.org
Southeastern San Diego Cardiac Disparities Project and Be There San Diego (BTSD) work with two influential groups in the southeastern San Diego community to begin to turn the tide against cardiovascular disease—faith-based organizations and health practitioners. Faith leaders work directly with community residents to develop practices that promote heart health and reduce the risk factors for heart attacks and strokes. Meanwhile, health practitioners identify and adopt changes within their organization to promote the cardiovascular health of patients. SESD Cardiac Disparities Project is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a grant awarded to BTSD. The mission of BTSD is to eliminate heart attacks and strokes in San Diego County to make San Diego the nation’s first heart attack and stroke free zone. For more information please call (619) 458-2141 or visitsdheartjustice.org
United African American Ministerial Action Council
The United African American Ministerial Action Council (UAAMAC) is committed to the construction of a Beloved Community of justice, equitable access to opportunities in the pursuit of happiness, education, health, family stability, economic development, peace and prosperity for all people. To this endeavor UAAMAC invites participation of all people of good will and their resources to work collectively in making The Beloved Community.
The Multicultural Health Foundation is a San Diego-based non-profit organization reimagining the healthcare system. Its approach unites social and clinical services and produces cost savings, a portion of which are reinvested to help prevent chronic diseases in vulnerable communities. For more information visit http://www.mhfwellness.org/
Elizabeth Bustos
Director of Community Engagement
Be There San Diego
404 Euclid Avenue, Suite 385
San Diego, CA 92114
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(619) 458-2141
#SDheartjustice -- At the Crossroads of Community, Medicine and Justice.
