Big Hearts: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

Yesterday at Community Health Center in Middletown, CT Kaitlin took Rosa’s blood pressure. It was one of those small local acts that our staff do countless times each day in the battle against heart disease.

Yet this time, it was also part of a much larger discussion.

Rosa is an ovarian cancer survivor who has fought hard to protect women’s health for decades. Rosa, our friend from the community, is our Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. She is the ranking member on the Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Prior to having her blood pressure checked, she spoke in our community room about the importance of screenings and preventative health care. She spoke about how the Affordable Care Act is helping people get this care. She described the Center for Disease Control’s WISEWOMAN program which “provides low-income, under-insured or uninsured women with chronic disease risk factor screening, lifestyle programs, and referral services in an effort to prevent cardiovascular disease”.

She talked about Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts goal of preventing one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.  

She took important national programs and brought them into the local context. She was joined by Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, State Representative Matt Lesser, Middletown Health Department Director Dr. Joseph Havlicek, Chief Public Health Official of Middletown Sal Nesci, and heart attack survivor Leigh Pechillo

Rep. Lesser reiterated Congresswoman DeLauro’s comments about the importance of screening and preventative health care as he related the story of when his cancer was detected through an early screening. Leigh Pechillo spoke about her own heart attack and the issues of congenital heart disease that members of her family have faced. She thanked the American Heart Association for projects they have done to address heart disease, efforts that have helped keep her and her loved ones alive. 

We are fortunate to have great public officials and health center staff with big hearts committed to fighting heart disease daily at the local level. We need to constantly be looking for ways to expand on our successes and share their nationally and globally.