Do We Get To See a Real Heart?

What an amazing day we had with the 4th graders from Prairie Star Elementary. Due to weather (our 8th snowstorm), Lone Jack Elementary was unable to attend. The kids learned about eating healthy, how we take care of patients, how they can take care of themselves and a crowd favorite...they had a chance to see an animal heart. This was put on by the Carondelet Heart Institute and Kansas City Heart Foundation. Thank you Barb L. and Dr. Eric H. for leading a great event.

Details went out in a press release:

Children Learn about Healthy Hearts at the Carondelet Heart Institute

What’s an echocardiogram? What does my heart sound like through a stethoscope? What is “blood pressure” and what does it mean? Fifty students from Lone Jack Elementary School and 100 students from Prairie Star Elementary will be learning the answers to those questions, and a lot more about heart health during the Kansas City Heart Foundation’s Your Healthy Heart event at the Carondelet Heart Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center on Friday, February 25, 10-11:45 a.m.

The day is the highlight of a week-long program sponsored by the Kansas City Heart Foundation. In the days preceding the field trip, nurses and other health professionals visit the classrooms to teach the students about the anatomy of the heart, risk factors for developing heart disease and how to reduce those risks.

During Your Healthy Heart at St. Joseph, the students will visit eight interactive stations covering topics such as cardiac rehab, pacemakers/stents and blood pressure and EKG checks. Students will also learn how to prepare easy, heart healthy snacks.

“Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States,” says Eric Hockstad, MD, cardiologist and president of the Kansas City Heart Foundation. “By educating children on the importance of heart health we can show them how to develop habits now that will help prevent heart disease later in life. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from the parents of students who have participated in this program in the past. They tell us that the information their children have brought home has inspired the whole family to take better care of their hearts.”

Thank you to the many volunteers, physicians, nurses, staff, Kansas City Heart Foundation and Prairie Star's Principal Farthing for making today event possible...and a major success.

Check out the great pictures from the event as Seen in the Kansas City Star.