GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The City of Grand Rapids will "Go Red" for women next month.
February is American Heart Month.
It's part of a program focusing on C-P-R education in coordination with the American Heart Association. The Blue Bridge and Gallery Parking Ramp downtown will be lit with red lights in recognition of National Wear Red Day on February 2nd.
On February 29th, a Grand Rapids Go Red for Women luncheon will be at the Watermark Country Club to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movement.
Here are more details from an AHA news release:
The American Heart Association, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024, is leading a community wide effort to light Grand Rapids red during February – American Heart Month – to raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women.
For its Centennial year, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives for all, is urging all West Michigan families to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR. With more than 350,0000 people experiencing cardiac arrests outside of a hospital, including 23,000 children, CPR is a critical skill that kids as young as 9 years old can learn.
In an official proclamation of Friday, February 2 as “National Wear Red Day”, Grand Rapids mayor Rosalynn Bliss emphasized the importance of everyone in our community being trained in CPR.
“This issue is personal to me,” Mayor Bliss said. “Like me, we all know someone who has been impacted by heart disease. The City of Grand Rapids applauds the work the American Heart Association is doing to raise awareness of the number one killer in our community and its effort to train at least one person in every household in the lifesaving skill of hands-only CPR.”
If you are called on to respond in a cardiac emergency, knowing CPR may save the life of someone you love,” said Jana Siminski, Executive Director, American Heart Association – West Michigan. “We are committed to extending the chain of survival in Grand Rapids through education because the power to save a life is in each of our hands”.
In conjunction with National Wear Red Day, the Blue Bridge and Gallery Parking Ramp will turn red in recognition of the nationwide Go Red for Women® movement.
Go Red for Women sponsors University of Michigan Health West, Corewell Health, and Trinity Health will be turning portions of their campuses red, too.
Other area businesses wanting to participate in #WearRedDay can use the local social media hashtag #GrandRapidsGoRed to share photos wearing red to show their support.
Later in February, the Go Red for Women movement will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the Grand Rapids Go Red for Women luncheon, the American Heart Association’s annual fundraising event. This year’s event will be held February 29 from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Watermark Country Club.
For more information and to register to attend the Go Red for Women Luncheon, contact (616) 482-1502 or visit our website here.
Joining the Nation of Lifesavers, an American Heart Association initiative focused on doubling the survival rate of cardiac arrest by 2030 is easier than ever with many learning options available to families. In Grand Rapids, families can take an online CPR course, learn and practice Hands-Only CPR with a CPR Anytime® Training Kit, watching a 60- second video to learn Hands-Only CPR, find a Heartsaver™ certification course near them.
CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival – which is key since about 90% of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die.45 For more information on how to join the Nation of Lifesavers this February, visit heart.org/nation.
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