Healthy Heart Project

News From New York State
Senator Shirley L. Huntley
For Immediate Release: November 10, 2010

Contact: Antonio Rodriguez | arodrigu@nysenate.gov | (518) 455-3531

MEDIA ADVISORY

Rochdale Village To Be The First Site Of A Wellness Center As Part Of The Healthy Heart Project  Senator Shirley L. Huntley And Dr. Robert Evans Spearhead The Fight Against Heart Disease In African American Women

(D-Jamaica), Senator Shirley L. Huntley’s office announced today a new community wellness initiative aimed at empowering African American women to combat heart disease. Called The Healthy Heart Project at Rochdale Village, this collaborative community effort is being coordinated by Senator Huntley and Dr. Robert Evans, with assistance of the newly founded Community Wellness Centers of America, LLC, that is basing its wellness outreach on a new testing device for heart disease called Multifunction Cardiogram or “MCG”, a risk-free test with 90-95% accuracy rates in diagnosing ischemic heart disease.

On Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the Rochdale Village Community Center, members of the Jamaica community are invited to attend a full day of activities, including a complimentary sit-down lunch, and featuring the MCG screens. Volunteer physicians and healthcare technologists will conduct the screenings at six stations for the one-day outreach. The health professionals plan to educate 500 members of the community about the new MCG with the goal to screen 120 members of the community.

“Heart disease is our number one killer in America. African Americans suffer disproportionately and women’s symptoms often go unrecognized”, said Senator Huntley. Dr. Evans concurs “The people of Jamaica suffer a death rate from heart disease that is five times greater than the death rate nationally. These numbers are unacceptable. This is a health crisis made worse by the recent hospital closures.” New York legislators recently passed a resolution to conduct an impact study on the closure of the St. John’s Hospital in Queens and the Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica and how this will affect members of the surrounding communities and access to care.

Founding members of the Community Wellness Centers of America, LLC responsible for organizing the Rochdale Village Healthy Heart Project are Dr. Robert Evans, Dr. Michael Rand, Dr. Nachmy Bronstein and Rich Wildzunas. Premier Heart MCG Founder and developer Joseph T. Shen, MD will be onsite to assist with the screenings and answer any questions about the device. Physician- volunteers include: Dr. Marie Eduard Nathalie Desvarieus, Dr. Norbert Rainford, Dr. John E. Strobeck, Dr. Aryel Nicoleau, Dr. Michael Landor, Dr. Susheel Kodali, and Dr. Abraham Bornstein. MCG technology company volunteers conducting the free screens include representatives of Ideal Medical Devices in New Jersey and Cardiac Analytics/North Atlantic Region. An electronic medical record system –OmniMD - will be employed for the first time ever in a wellness setting. Bonnie Arkus, RN, founder and executive director of the Women’s Heart Foundation will be a guest speaker discussing heart disease in women and her own personal experience fighting the disease.