American Heart Association - Albuquerque
The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is: "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke."
The mission statement was affirmed by the Delegate Assembly at its meetings of June 1993, June 1996 and June 1999. The mission statement undergoes a formal review process every third year.
Description:
The Albuquerque staff of the American Heart Association works thoughout New Mexico raising awareness about cardiovascular health and preventative measures to avoid heart disease and stroke, our nation's #1 and 3 killers.
Educating the Public:
Each year more than 5 million people visited our patient education websites located at http://www.americanheart.org. In 2007, we launched Heart Insight magazine to provide patients with the most up-to-date, authoritative and practical advice on cardiovascular health.
Our Four Cause Campaigns:
Our Go Red for Women Campaign (http://www.goredforwomen.org) teaches that cardiovascular diseases and stroke affect women at any age and that taking care of your health needs to be a priority in your life! Every February we hold a Go Red for Women Luncheon where we raise money to further our research and education campaigns.
Go Red for Women also focuses on at-risk populations and the higher incidences of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in hispanic women. Our Vestido Rojo campaign targets hispanic women to educate them on their risks and how better lifestyle choices can decrease their chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
Start! (http://www.americanheart.org/start) is our National program to get America walking! Sedentary lifestyles and poor food choices increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. We also work with Albuquerque companies to try and get their employees out of their chairs and moving. These companies can apply to be a Fit-Friendly Company or start a walking team!
MYStart! Online (http://www.mystartonline.org) is a free tool that can help you make positive lifestyle changes through physical activity and better eating. You can log your times and distances in your Activity Diary, plot your walking routes on your personal map and enter meal information in your Nutrition Diary. It's easy and fun to get healthy!
The Start! HeartWalk, March 14, 2009 at The Bosque School, is our annual celebration for individuals, families and companies to celebrate their walking success! It is a fun, family event so form a team with your friends or coworkers and come join us, or just come out for a beautiful stroll. (Http://heartwalk.kintera.org/albuquerque)
The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation partnered to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (http://www.healthiergeneration.org).
Childhood obesity is on the rise in this country and this could be the first generation of kids that does not outlive their parents! The Alliance works with the schools, parents and PTA's to create healthier school environments for our kids, from increasing physical education to removing soda and candy vending machines.
Our Power to End Stroke Program raise awareness about the increased risk of stroke among African Americans. We ask local churches to participate in Power Sunday events by discussing stroke awareness with their congregations. You can become a Power to End Stroke Ambassador in your community! Visit http://www.strokeassociation.org to learn how!
CPR Training:
We pioneered CPR development and training and in 2006-2007 we instructed 11 million people in CPR and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC). We make crucial training available in 17 languages and our materials are distributed in more than 80 countries. Call toll-free, 1-877-242-4277 to find out when and where.
Our Commitment to Research
The American Heart Association focuses on developing early career investigators, young people who will increase the capacity of the research community to generate the highest quality research. We dedicate more monies to research than any other volunteer health organization. Only the federal government funds more cardiovascular research and we are proud to have funded research in the careers of eight Nobel Prize winners.
In 2006-2007, we committed over $159 million towards 1,130 new research awards but lacked the additional $116.5 million needed to fund 725 other highly meritorious grant and fellowship applications.
In New Mexico, we awarded over $2 million in research grants to the University of New Mexico.
Improving Treatment:
We are working in New Mexico to improve the quality of health care in hospitals and doctor's offices by creating best practices for treating heart disease and stroke through our Get With The Guidelines quality improvement modules.
Advocating for Better Health:
Our nation-wide network, You're The Cure (http://www.yourethecure.org), advocates for issues at the national, state and local levels via emails, phone calls and legislator visits. In 2007, volunteers signed and delivered nearly 27,000 Red Dress Paper Doll petitions in support of the Heart for Women Act. In New Mexico, our advocacy team helped push through our current anti-smoking legislation to protect the public from dangerous second-hand smoke. Register today and become part of the cure!
Scientific Meetings:
Providing forums to exchange scientific knowledge is basic to our mission. Our Scientific Sessions is the world's largest gathering devoted to cardiovascular science with 26,878 attendees from around the world last year.
History:
The Early Days
A pioneering group of physicians and social workers formed the first Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease in New York City in 1915. They were concerned about the lack of heart disease information. At that time, heart disease patients were considered doomed, limited to complete bed rest. So these physicians conducted studies in New York City and Boston to find out whether heart disease patients could safely return to work. Similar groups in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago evolved into heart associations in the 1920s.
Interest spread widely in other cities across the United States and Canada. Recognizing the need for a national organization to share research findings and promote further study, six cardiologists representing several groups founded the American Heart Association in 1924. The founding members were Drs. Lewis A. Conner and Robert H. Halsey of New York; Paul D. White of Boston; Joseph Sailer of Philadelphia; Robert B. Preble of Chicago; and Hugh D. McCulloch of St. Louis. Drs. James B. Herrick of Chicago and William S. Thayer of Baltimore were also instrumental in the early planning. Dr. White, president of AHA in 1941, once described the early years as a time of "almost unbelievable ignorance" about heart disease. The early efforts of the American Heart Association to overcome that ignorance included enlisting help from hundreds, then thousands, of physicians and scientists.
By the late 1930s, AHA members began considering ways to expand their activities to reach the general public. In 1946 the American Legion donated $50,000 to the AHA for research and to develop a community rheumatic fever program. Public support and funds established this and other programs. To broaden its scope, the AHA reorganized in 1948 and brought in non-medical volunteers with skills in business management, communication, public education, community organization and fund raising.
The American Heart Association made its public debut in late 1948 during a network radio contest, "The Walking Man," on the "Truth or Consequences" program hosted by Ralph Edwards. Millions of Americans sent contributions to the AHA along with guesses on the walking man's identity. The effort netted $1.75 million before Jack Benny was identified as the "Walking Man."
A small national staff in New York City then began to organize American Heart Association divisions across the country. They launched the first national fund-raising campaign the following year in February 1949, raising $2.7 million.
The American Heart Association's Growth
Since 1949, the American Heart Association has grown rapidly in size, financial resources, involvement with medical and non-medical volunteers, and influence -- both nationally and internationally. The AHA moved the National Center from New York City to Dallas in 1975 to better serve affiliates and local divisions nationwide. The volunteer-led affiliates and their divisions form a national network of local AHA organizations involved in providing research, education, and community programs and in raising money to support the association's work. The network continues to gain strength as it expands at the grass-roots level.
The AHA completed significant internal changes between 1980 and 1986, allowing it to reach the public with a louder, clearer voice. During the next eight years, the association became a much more visible champion of public health. The AHA also developed guidelines for the nation's healthcare system and supported the federal government's attempt to improve access to healthcare.
At the same time, the AHA continued to strengthen its internal programs and its internal management. The association revised its mission statement and focused its planning in three areas: cardiovascular science, cardiovascular education and community programs, and fund raising efforts. Achievements included stricter research standards, new healthcare site modules, and development of several new cookbooks. Large gifts allowed the AHA to support new research projects, move all scientific staff into one building, and sponsor creative professional education programs. Efforts to include more women and minorities in the leadership ranks began to pay off by the late 1980s, resulting in more efforts to understand the effects of heart disease and stroke on women and minorities.
The mid-1990s were a time of great change in the American Heart Association. The association's scientific findings began to move more quickly from laboratories and clinics to physician's offices and American households. The AHA took positions on important issues and made clear, simple statements about controlling risk factors. Volunteers and staff agreed on a strategy for improving affiliate research programs, and the national organization created new divisions dealing with stroke and emergency cardiac care. To reduce costs and increase international circulation, the association outsourced the publication of its scientific journals and began publishing them online.
Despite strong opposition from the tobacco industry, the American Heart Association continued to be an advocate for the American public, especially children.
Finally, and most profoundly, AHA volunteers and staff began transforming the organization into an enterprise that could be vibrant and relevant in the 21st century. The change was deeper than anything since 1948, when the AHA transformed itself from a scientific society into a voluntary health agency. The first step was in identifying the organization's strategic driving force in March 1995: Providing credible heart disease and stroke information for effective prevention and treatment.
Agreement on the driving force made it clear that individual Americans, not the AHA's affiliates, were the National Center's primary audience. The new driving force altered the whole organization, which can be seen in the decision to become a single corporation in June 1997. This action reinforced the spirit of cooperation that people brought to the effort.
Contact person: Kathi Bradley, Coordinator, Field Support, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (505) 353-5815
Languages Spoken: English
Address:
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2201 San Pedro NE Building 2, Suite 102Albuquerque, NM 87110 (See a map) |
Web Site: http://americanheart.org
Directions:
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We are located in the San Pedro Office Park on the corner of Indian School and San Pedro. |
| Last updated on September 22, 2009 |
