NEWS — VVRMC sponsors heart health clinic at community center

By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times

Keeping hearts strong and healthy was the focus of a community outreach event
sponsored by Val Verde Regional Medical Center on Saturday.

Several dozen area residents attended the event, which was hosted by the Val Verde
County Community Center, 1690 Cienegas Road.

County Commissioner Pct. 3 Gustavo “Gus” Flores, whose precinct the community
center is located, attended the event, had his blood pressure checked and sat in on a
presentation about heart health.

Flores told The 830 Times, “I’m really excited about this event. It’s the first event we
have concerning health issues and doing things like eating healthy and exercising. We
need to educate people. I myself have gone through some serious health issues that I
know if I had paid a little bit more attention on this or that, I could have probably
avoided.

“I’m really happy the hospital got involved with us on this, and we’ve told the hospital,
our doors are open if you want to come back and do something like this again or have an
event every six months or so, whatever it takes to educate people

and keep them healthy,”
the commissioner added.

Flores also pointed out the community center also offers area residents a Social Security
Administration satellite office, a branch office of the county’s veterans service office, an
individual who assists with translations, filling out applications or making phone calls
and food distribution events every other week.

VVRMC Chief Executive Officer Jorge Jurado welcomed those who attended the event.

He thanked everyone for joining hospital staff members at the event, also expressing his
appreciation to Flores and the Val Verde County Commissioners Court for allowing use
of the community center.

“Today you’re going to hear from some of our team, from some of the amazing people
that work at Val Verde Regional Medical Center. We’re going to hear from our
cardiology clinic, our cardiac rehab team, our physical therapy department. You’ll get to
taste some amazing food prepared by our dietary team, and then you’re going to get to do
some exercises with our amazing physical therapy team,” Jurado said.

“We hope you take some of this information back (home) with you,” Jurado said, adding, “We can all make healthier choices. We have to take care of ourselves and our bodies and

our families.”

Cynthia Hernandez, VVRMC cardiology nurse practitioner, gave the first presentation,
discussing how to prevent heart disease.
“I want to talk to you about following a plan to control risk factors that we may have to
get heart disease and prevent a heart attack,” Hernandez said.

She said heart disease is a condition where the arteries supplying the heart become
blocked and cause a heart attack.

Hernandez went through the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Simple 8,” eight
“rules” to follow to prevent heart disease.

She said these include managing blood pressure by following a low-salt diet, controlling
“bad” cholesterol, maintaining good blood sugar levels, staying physically active, eating
a diet focused on low salt intake, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and nuts, maintaining a
healthy weight, stopping or not starting smoking and getting seven to nine hours of sleep
a night.

Diego Escobedo, who runs VVRMC’s cardiac rehab program, spoke to the group next,
explaining services available for the community. He stressed the importance of regular
check-ups with a primary care provider.

“We want to prevent problems. . . Today we have radiology, we have testing and
imaging. We can catch these problems early. It’s all about preventing the first occurrence
of a heart problem, a heart condition. Having those doctor visits is our first
recommendation,” Escobedo said.

He said VVRMC offers an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program and noted the
program emphasizes the importance of reconciling a patient’s medications, of managing a
patient’s blood pressure, of performing aerobic exercises to strengthen the heart, as well
as understanding the benefits of a heart-healthy diet. He said the program serves between
30 to 50 patients a week.

Hernandez then went over a portion of her presentation in Spanish for attendees with
limited English.

Those attending then moved to a banquet set up in an adjacent space of the
community center to hear a presentation by VVRMC Chef David Lopez and his sous
chef, Marcopolo Mallen.

Mallen demonstrated how to create a quick, healthy and delicious spring roll featuring
cooked shrimp, fresh vegetables and mixed greens.

A spicy peanut dipping cause complemented the spring rolls. Those attending were also
able to sample a variety of other creations from Lopez and his team, including a fresh
fruit tartlet with raspberry mousse, Cajun-spiced chicken wings, vegetable pinwheels,
falafel balls with a garlic Parmesan dip, tomato and mozzarella skewers with a balsamic
vinegar glaze, Green Goddess chicken salad and spinach and artichoke dip with crostini.
Audience members also participated in a heart-healthy exercise routine.

Robin Palmer, an elected member of the VVRMC’s board of director, attended
Saturday’s event and said she hopes VVRMC will continue its community outreach
program.

“We need to get out into the community, and this is one of the first times. It’s kind of a
trial, if you will. I feel like Jorge and his team have done a really remarkable job, and we
did tell him when we hired him that we wanted to get out into the community more, and I
think we’re doing that,” Palmer said.

Palmer said community outreach is vital.

“We want to focus on preventative measures. That’s key. People tend not to take care of
themselves, and they need to, and hopefully, with more participation in events like these,
that will happen,” she said.

Palmer added she would like to see similar events held regularly at various sites around
the county.

The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.