(Photo courtesy of Kona Community Hospital)

MEDIA RELEASE

National Wear Red Day was Friday, Feb. 3 and Kona Community Hospital organized a “We Care to Wear Red” day for all of the employees of the hospital to promote awareness regarding heart disease – the No. 1 threat to women.

Forty-eight employees from 22 different hospital departments were available to take a photograph to showcase hospital support of this important day. Along with them, many other employees proudly wore red to join in the campaign.

Participants are shown holding their red dress pins that symbolizes women and heart disease, and how we can help save women’s lives through education and awareness.

National Wear Red Day is a day when Americans nationwide wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.

“This is a great opportunity for our hospital to reach out to our community and alert them to their personal risk factors for heart disease. By joining together, we can raise awareness locally about heart disease and help lead women on the path to prevention,” said Emily Mendez-Bryant, KCH’s community relations director.

Alarmingly, heart disease takes the life of 1 in 3 women each year. Although significant progress has been made in increasing awareness among women that heart disease is their No. 1 killer (from 34 percent in 2000 to 69 percent in 2009) most fail to make the connection between its risk factors and their personal risk of developing heart disease.

The American Heart Association recommends being physically active, eating a heart-healthy diet and being educated about heart disease and its risk factors, as well as share information with the women in our lives about heart disease and how we can fight back.