Centers celebrating Heart Month

Care Connection for Aging Services’ senior centers will focus on the importance of cardiac health in February to celebrate American Heart Month.
Each of the 22 centers will celebrate Go Red Day on Friday, Feb. 5., to draw attention to the importance of women’s heart health. Some centers will have special programming in February, and all of them will have handouts available to emphasize the importance of heart health.
The agency has made heart health one of its top four annual lifestyles emphases because cardiac disease is the leading cause of death globally, accounting for 17.3 million deaths per year, according to the American Heart Association.
Heart disease accounts for one of every three deaths in America – about 2,150 daily, one every 40 seconds. Cardiovascular diseases claim more lives than all forms of cancer combined, according to the association.
Many heart ailments are treatable or preventable, leading Care Connection to provide education on the subject.
To kick it off, Care Connection Lifestyles Specialist Vickie Whitsitt delivered 340 red caps for newborns handmade by senior center participants across the area to the Heart Association’s Kansas City office for the “Little Hats, Big Hearts” campaign for National Heart Month.
To learn more about heart health, call Whisitt at 1-800-748-7826.
Care Connection for Aging Services, a non-profit area agency on aging serving West Central Missouri, operates 22 senior centers in 13 counties – Bates, Benton, Carroll, Cedar, Chariton, Henry, Hickory, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Saline, St. Clair and Vernon. Its mission is to provide resources and services that empower people to create healthy aging experiences. For more information, call or email us at information@goaging.org

Participants in the red-cap project:
Central Office in Warrensburg – Ashley Colster, Francy Marr, and Vickie Whitsitt
Higginsville Senior Center – Happy Hookers Group
Kern Senior Center in Rich Hill – Sandra Lawson and Linda Tourtillott
Korth Senior Center in Stockton– Danuta Johnson and Lila Carriker.
McCarty Senior Center – Sue Sherman and Vicky Daniel
Odessa Senior Center – Crochet Group
Sedalia Senior Center – Diane Zinn and Karen Hamilton
St. Clair County Senior Center – Jeanne Heckenlively, Heather Redburn, and Jo Mohr
Vernon County Senior Center – Lee Stroer
Warrensburg Senior Center – Cheryl Middleton
Warsaw Senior Center – Amber Evilsizer