Another year, another local and exciting Go Red event from Community Memorial – but this year brought the first virtual Go Red. This event for women and men serves as an education symposium focusing on heart health.
Guests hopped on their computers from near and far, donning their red attire and enjoying the stories and information shared, all from their own home or office. The panel of medical professionals discussed this year’s topic: ‘In Case of Emergency’. A grateful patient story was the perfect fit for this event – Gary, from Chittenango, shared his terrifying ordeal from fall 2020 and talked about how local EMT personnel and the emergency room of Community Memorial saved his life.
Collaborating on the panel and answering questions from event moderator Dr. Merrill Miller was Dr. Michael Walsh, chief medical officer; and Bernie Casscles, RN, director of emergency services, both from Community Memorial.
“It was an honor to have members of our community share their experience with the talented, dedicated professionals with whom we partner,” Walsh said.
The annual collaboration between Community Memorial and Colgate University works to improve patient outcomes by informing guests on specific heart-health topics. ‘In Case of Emergency’ underscores the importance of patients seeking care right away when there is a heart medical issue happening.
“When a heart attack is happening, time is of the essence,” Casscles said. “The ER of Community Memorial is here for Hamilton and all the surrounding communities in these medical emergencies.”
Also featured this year was the team from SOMAC that responded to the 911 call for Gary – Kyle Sylvester, director of operations, and his team members Caitlyn Smith and Jeff Carroll. Together, they shared the response upon arriving on-scene to a patient suffering a cardiac event and the work performed.
National Wear Red Day is held annually on the first Friday in February. On this day, employees and medical staff at Community Memorial Hospital wore red to show support for heart disease awareness and for understanding its risks, and employees helped raise funds to donate to the American Heart Association. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans and impacts more than 800,000 individuals each year, but there is good news. According to the American Heart Association, 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable. The American Heart Association recommends that individuals know their numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index and their family history.
Employees at Community Memorial celebrate National Wear Red Day and raise money for the American Heart Association.