Virginia

Have you heard about the latest addition to the shelves at the library? The American Heart Association is adding blood pressure monitoring stations and loaner devices to libraries across the Greater Richmond and Tri-Cities centered on equity, placing resources in areas with the highest prevalence of hypertension and barriers to care.

Virginia Beach resident Kelly Grose has been named the executive vice president for the Eastern States Region of the American Heart Association, which includes the 13 states from Maine to Virginia and the District of Columbia. For the last four years, Grose has served as the associate executive vice president for the Eastern States Region, involved in all aspects of region management. In her new role as executive vice president, she will oversee the region’s health initiatives, revenue and operations.

Where someone lives should not dictate how long they live. Five Richmond leaders are joining the American Heart Association’s Leaders of Impact campaign to combat health inequities in RVA. Studies show a near 20-year life expectancy gap in zip codes across Greater Richmond and the Tri-Cities. For example, in Richmond City’s Gilpin Court, life expectancy is 67 years compared to 85 years in Westover Hills. According to the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, this can be caused by social determinants of health and other barriers to achieving health equity for all communities — factors that include structural racism and access to quality healthcare.

Fifteen students from coast to coast are joining the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, to champion their peers to live heart healthy. Representing a diversity of backgrounds and experiences, these youth selected as national volunteer Youth Heart Ambassadors for the association’s in-school programs, Kids Heart Challenge™ and American Heart Challenge™ will share how heart disease and stroke have impacted their lives while encouraging others to establish healthy habits to better mental and physical well-being.

This June, over 1000 Walgreens locations across West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, DC and South Carolina will provide shoppers the opportunity to donate in a quick and easy way to support the mission of the American Heart Association. The company is doing so in honor of Brooklyn Graves, the first child of Area Healthcare Manager Area 105 at Walgreens, Kristen Graves. Graves has shared her family’s story to raise awareness of congenital heart defects, the need for continued research funding as well as supportive resources the American Heart Association offers.

As plans are underway for the 2024 Hampton Roads Heart Ball, Cathie Vick, Chief Development & Public Affairs Officer, The Port of Virginia and Ashford Denman, Vice President of Cardiovascular Services, Sentara Health have been named co-chairs of this year’s community-wide campaign. The Heart Ball celebrates progress made through the dedication and passion of all who support the American Heart Association’s Heart of Hampton Roads, a year-round effort aimed at investing in and saving and improving lives in Hampton Roads.