SXU participates in National Woman’s Heart Day Health Fair; School of Nursing provides more than 500 free heart screenings

Chicago (Feb. 22, 2008) The Saint Xavier University School of Nursing provided more than 500 free heart disease risk screenings with follow-up consultation during the 2008 National Woman’s Heart Day Health Fair on Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the lobby of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.

“The Saint Xavier School of Nursing is delighted to help provide this life-saving health information,” said SXU School of Nursing Interim Dean Kay Thurn, Psy.D., R.N. “This free service and information offers tremendous value to the women of Chicago.”

Sister To Sister: Everyone Has A Heart Foundation, Inc. sponsors the one-day national event annually. Saint Xavier University’s School of Nursing provided a volunteer staff of 25 faculty and 50 students to register participants, provide screenings and conduct counseling for the 1,500 women in attendance. In some cases, women being screened were asked to follow up with their primary care physicians.

Screening tests included body mass index, blood pressure, triglyceride levels, blood glucose and total cholesterol, as well as HDL and LDL cholesterol. Attendees received instant results and a personal health consultation conducted by advanced-practice nurses.

The Chicago National Woman’s Heart Day Health Fair is one of 17 offered around the nation as part of the growing women’s heart health movement. The Sister To Sister: Everyone Has A Heart Foundation is the only national organization that focuses solely on women’s heart disease screening and prevention. The organization was founded by its president, Irene Pollin, wife of Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin. The couple lost two children to heart disease.

-SXU-

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Joe Moore
773-298-3937 or jmoore@sxu.edu