Editorial Going Red, The Region Is Going All Out

The American Heart Assoc. (AHA) is calling it a ‘building year’ for Go Red for Women involvement in Western Mass.

But we’re encouraged by the speed at which support for this worthy cause is mounting within the region, and believe that such enthusiasm will result in more awareness of heart disease, the number-one killer among women in this country — and, ultimately, overall improvement in heart health across this region.

These are the short- and long-term goals of the Go Red movement, a national awareness campaign spearheaded by the AHA. The program has only formally existed since 2004, but signs of the initiative are already recognizable across the country, and across the Pioneer Valley.

Some of those signs are seen year-round, such as ‘Red Dress pins’ – placed on lapels as a very visible yet simple show of support. But because February serves as a banner month for the movement, more people, companies, and community groups will ‘go red’ this month than any other, especially on National Wear Red Day (this year, Friday, Feb. 3).

And increasingly, entire buildings or national landmarks are also going red during the month of February, including Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building. After only two full years in existence, the AHA’s ability to persuade management at the Empire State Building to illuminate their outer walls in red lights is impressive.

But while the AHA is still working to spur visible involvement in the country’s major cities, the organization is also extending its reach into regions like Western Mass., where perhaps awareness of heart disease is most needed – the region reports some of the highest rates of coronary disease in the state.

In some ways, more impressive than a red waterfall is the fact that despite AHA’s designation of 2006 as a ‘building year’ in Western Mass., local involvement seems to be on pace with larger cities like Boston and New York.

For one, Baystate Health, the largest health care provider in the area, is providing experts to speak at various Go Red events, such as the Go Red for Women breakfast, planned for Valentine’s Day at the Springfield Sheraton. Similarly, the UMass Memorial Health System, of which Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer is a member, has signed on to promote Go Red awareness in its hospitals and in neighboring Worcester County. Big Y supermarkets will soon carry the Go Red, Love Your Heart cookbook, and in one of the grander shows of support, Monarch Place in downtown Springfield will turn red lights on in front of the office tower, in true Empire State Building fashion.

What’s more, a black-tie Heart Ball, slated for March 3 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke and separate from the Go Red movement, though still an important fundraiser for the AHA, has also garnered local support – Robert Cartelli, president of Fathers & Sons Inc. will chair the event, and a cadre of local sponsors have also signed on, including Yankee Candle Company, and media sponsors 22News, BusinessWest, and The Healthcare News.

With so many events already in the works in Western Mass., it’s encouraging to think that the AHA expects even greater things from the region in the years to come.
And while the primary mission of Go Red and other heart disease awareness programs spearheaded by the AHA is to fight heart disease, any cause that can gather the people of Western Mass. to work toward one common goal has benefits beyond the obvious for the region.
That has us seeing red … in the best sense of the phrase.-