Strong hearts the focus of Go Red for Women event
February, the month with Valentine’s Day and Go Red for Women cardiac health awareness, is all about the heart. For the entire month, VA employees will wear red to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease and to help save lives.
VA Goes Red event
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined, according to the American Heart Association. To raise awareness nationwide, VA is partnering with the Aurora community to Go Red for Women for an event promoting heart health.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center is hosting Healthy Heart Day, a health fair and educational seminar on Fri., Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Attendees are invited to wear red, and guest speakers will give short presentations on ways to support heart strength. Presenters will cover blood pressure monitoring, gentle chair yoga, smoking cessation, CPR training and more.
Participants can speak with medical staff about the warning signs of stroke and heart attack for women, learn about available benefits for women Veterans and visit 14 different booths with information and resources about VA and community partners.
Available resources, supportive services, healthy hearts
VA staff from the women’s clinic and mental health will have booths with educational information, products and resources for women Veterans. Other activities will connect attendees to stress management support, spiritual care, a healthy cooking demonstration and wellness information.
Event organizer Eva Gergely, center for development and civic engagement chief, said women Veterans tend to get busy with jobs and as mothers and caregivers, so they don’t always have the capacity to focus on their own care.
“These women served and now work, and often forget to get annual exams to make sure they are healthy,” she said. “This event reminds them that yearly checkups are important to ensure heart health and offers an opportunity to learn about VA resources available to them.”
Gergely also welcomes VA staff to attend the health fair.
“We have to take care of our staff who are caring for our Veterans,” she said. “It’s important they know about all the different resources, making sure they are healthy and engaging in self-care.”
Registration is not needed for this walk-in event, which will be held in the auditorium of Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, 1700 N. Wheeling St., Aurora, CO 80013.
For more information on this Go Red for Women event, please contact Eva Gergely at 720-723-3074.
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April Love is a writer-editor on the VISN 19 Creative Task Force. She began working for VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in 2016 and lives in Aurora, Colorado.