Howard University Heart 2 Heart Ball a Success!

The Howard University School of Pharmacy chapters of  Kappa Epsilon Professional Pharmacy Fraternity (ΚΕ) and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Incorporated (ΚΨ) held their Annual Heart 2 Heart Ball (H2H) on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 7PM in Howard University’s Armour J. Blackburn Center Ballroom. 


This effort, initiated by Dr. Khiana Willis, was created to raise awareness about women’s heart health in conjunction with the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Go Red for Women Campaign. H2H, a School of Pharmacy tradition since 2008,was chaired by Kenya Lovett, a third-year student and member of  ΚΕ and co-chaired by Maria Ricasa, a second year student and member of ΚΨ. The emcees of the evening were ΚΨ Regent Christyn Mullen and ΚΕ President Claude Manjo. 


The event was semi-formal, and a crowd of 170 students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the community attended, wearing red dresses and ties in observance of heart disease awareness. Music, laughter, and important information surrounded guests as they enjoyed a three-course meal, followed by an evening of dancing. 


China Terrell, JD, an Attorney and Commissioner on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for Mt. Pleasant, MD was featured as the keynote speaker. Her captivating story begins with a checkup where her physician indicated that her resting heart rate was much higher than normal and at the age of 27, Terrell had open-heart surgery. She reminded attendees to always “monitor  your heart rate” and to  “listen to your body”. 


Also in attendance was Gail Mates, National Spokeswoman for the Go Red for Women Campaign, who gave a riveting presentation on what it means to "Go Red", including her personal  story about heart disease in her family.  


Mr. Wendell Bunyan, Assistant Professor at the School of Pharmacy, entertained as our pianist and Shawdae Thorpe, a graduate student at the College of Education, serenaded the crowd with her melodious voice. Several pharmacy students with alumna Bukola Akinsiku, Pharm.D graced the dance floor with a beautiful traditional African dance, choreographed by Akinsiku.

Leading up to the event, several students participated in community projects to spread awareness of heart disease including the Greater Washington Region Heart Walk, 2011 NBC 4 Health Expo, as well as National Go Red Day.  National Go Red Day was held on February 4 in which students conducted blood pressure screenings, gave valuable health information, and also distributed red dress pins, the symbol for Go Red For Women, to those that signed up for the campaign at Howard University Hospital. 


Various fundraisers such as advertising space sold for the program book, a silent auction, and generous donations from corporate sponsors, including Rite Aid, CVS, Safeway, Wal-mart, SuperVALU/Shoppers, Grubb’s Pharmacy, AirTran, Washington Redskins, Washington Capitals, and others, helped fund the festivities and raise money for the AHA. The Office of the Dean and Howard Pharmacy Alumni also contributed to the event. This year, the KE and ΚΨ Heart 2 Heart Committee donated over $2600 to the AHA.
For more details about the AHA's Go Red For Women campaign, visit www.goredforwomen.org. 

13th Annual Greater Washington Region Heart Ball

An elegant, black-tie celebration of life, the 13th Annual DC Heart Ball, on February 26, 2011 at the Tyson's Corner Ritz Carlton, truly lived up to its reputation as a premier social event in our nation's capital. More than 600 of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia’s most prominent physicians, corporate, health care and community leaders assembled at this year's Heart Ball for an inspirational evening of dinner, dancing, live entertainment and live and silent auctions.  

This year, the Greater Washington Region Heart Ball raised $910,000 for the AHA's mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The live auction was highlighted by intense bidding on a visit with Dr. Henry Kissinger and a fabulous trip to France.

The American Heart Association calls the event a celebration of creating and sharing, celebrating the AHA's work and mission, donors and volunteers, and most importantly the lives saved and improved because of everyone's efforts.

For the second year, CGI, the Healing Heart Society partner of the American Heart Association, honored four military physicians for their service on the battlefield and the home front while highlighting the role of technology in advancing cardiovascular care as part of the Heart Heroes program. This year’s honorees included:

•   Dr. Rupa Dainer – Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy, who is currently a Pediatric Anesthesiologist at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD
•  Dr. Mark Haigney – Major, U.S. Air Force (Retired), a leader in the military cardiovascular care field, he serves as Director of Medicine and Pharmacology at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
•  Dr. Kevin Woods –Major, U.S. Army, and a graduate of West Point, Dr. Woods is currently the Director of the Anticoagulation Clinic at National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD. 
• Dr. Erich Wedam – Commander, U.S. Navy and a cardiac electrophysiologist at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

“The challenges these men and women face in treating patients on the battlefield are unique," said Cheryl Campbell, Senior Vice President, CGI, and board member for the regional American Heart Association.”They must combine exceptional skill, complicated logistics, and the latest in technology and information management to quickly assess, treat, and stabilize patients. Our Heart Hero honorees are truly at the tip of the spear, delivering the best possible care to their patients wherever they are.”

Survivors were also honored in one of the night’s many mission moments. The Faces of Heart honorees included: Kristen Burtle – in memory of her father, David Cogan, who passed from a heart attack, heart attack survivor Aaron Daniels, congenital heart defect survivor Matthew Nelson, heart transplant survivor Olivia Jones, supra-ventra tachychardia survivor Drew Gillis.

My personal experience at this year's Heart Ball was one that was "behind the scenes" as I worked with the AHA GWR's Director of Communications and Marketing, Roxana, to make sure that the event ran smoothly and that the various members of the media in attendance were able to get whatever pictures and information that they needed. Working with reporters from media outlets such as the Washington Post and Capitol File Magazine was an exciting treat for me in its own right, however, seeing their enthusiasm about the event and their willingness to "go the extra mile" to promote the AHA's Heart Ball and what it stands for made the experience even sweeter.

The 2011 Heart Ball honorees, all of whom are past local AHA board chairs, received heartfelt gifts of decorative plates with drawings by a heart survivor.

ABOVE (left to right)
2011 Honorees posing with their gifts: Washington Cardiology Center’s  Dr. Kenneth Kent, Towers Watson’s Jacques Leger, Capital One’s Robert Roane, Peck Advisory Services’ Dale Peck, and Cardinal Bank president Kevin Reynolds.

ABOVE:
WJLA’s Leon Harris and Jennifer Donelan emceed

ABOVE:

Senior Vice President of Health Industry for CGI, Dr. Jim Peake, Dr. Mark Haigney, Director of Cardiology, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Commander Erich Wedam, Cardiac Electrophysiologist at National Naval Medical Center, Lieutenant Commander Rupa Dainer, Pediatric Anesthesiologist at the National Naval Medical Center, Major Craig Dobson, Pediatric Cardiologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Major Kevin Woods, Director of the Anticoagulation Clinic at National Naval Medical Center, Cheryl Campbell, Senior Vice President, CGI and American Heart Association Board Member, and Jeremy Beauchamp, Executive Vice President, American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Affiliate.

(ABOVE)

Christina Bongiovanni, Jacques Leger of Towers Watson and current American Heart Association Greater Washington Region Board Chair and Candy Duncan of KPMG, the 2012 Heart Ball Chair

 

(ABOVE)

American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Executive Vice President Jeremy Beauchamp and Erika Beauchamp



ABOVE (left to right):

CGI’s Cheryl Campbell, KPMG’s Candy Duncan (next year’s Heart Ball Chairperson), Blake Real Estate’s David Bender, and Faces of Heart honoree CGI’s Kristen Burtle

~Juliana