WMCHealth’s Girls Night Out Honors Heart Disease Survivors

VALHALLA, NY (February, 2023) – Girls’ Night Out, a heartwarming evening featuring tributes to heart disease survivors and their caregivers, was held Feb. 9 at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown. WCBS-TV news anchor Mary Calvi emceed the event with proceeds benefiting the WMCHealth Heart & Vascular Institute, which offers comprehensive cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery and vascular surgery services to patients of all ages, as well as heart disease prevention program. A sellout crowd of over 400 attended.

The evening included dining, dancing and a fashion show featuring healthcare providers and patients modeling fashions from Macy’s at Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, the event’s main sponsor. Other sponsors included Burke Energy; Cross County Shopping Center; Elemental Grounds Landscaping Contractors; The Grove at Valhalla; Total Care RX; Tritech and Westchester Independent Living Center Inc.

February is Heart Health Awareness Month. Heart disease is still the number one killer of women in the United States, causing 1 in 3 deaths or approximately one every minute.

Julio Panza, MD, Director of the Department of Cardiology at WMCHealth, said that the heart’s function affects many systems of the body. “Because there is truly a connection between our hearts and so many other systems in our bodies, interdisciplinary collaboration between all of our clinical specialists is so important,’ he said. “Our work to change and save lives is truly a collaboration that delivers miracles every day.’’

Gabbie Fried, RN, Vice President of Cardiovascular Services with the Heart & Vascular Institute said that 80 percent of heart diseases and strokes are preventable.

“Our new Cardiovascular Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program (CHPDPP) works to prevent coronary disease and save lives,’ she said. “Through education and screening and by developing a personal plan for exercise and healthy eating the CHPDPP team works to head off potential heart problems.’’
About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level I (adult and pediatric), Level II and Level III trauma centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.

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