JC Blair Auxiliary Sponsors ‘Ladies After Hours’ to Promote Heart Health
February is Heart Health Month and The Auxiliary to J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital is teaming up with J.C. Blair’s Cardiac Rehabilitation staff to sponsor the twelfth annual Wear Red event on Thursday, February 28, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Ellis Hall Ballroom at Juniata College.
This year’s event is a ‘Ladies After Hours’ with the theme ‘A Taste of the Mediterranean.’ Sampling stations will feature heart healthy foods from the Mediterranean along with recipes to take home. The featured speaker will be Denise Sheffield, RN, CCRP, service leader of J.C. Blair’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation program. Her presentation, entitled “Surviving Heart Disease,” will feature several cardiac rehab graduates who will share their experiences with heart disease. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at J.C. Blair’s Information Desk or online by visiting www.jcblair.org until February 22.
Sheffield earned her nursing degree from Midway College in Midway, Kentucky, and started her nursing career at J.C. Blair in the medical surgical unit before specializing in intensive care nursing. After earning her certificate in cardiac rehabilitation in 1992, she worked in J.C. Blair’s cardiac rehab program until 1997, when she left to work at Bon Secours Holy Family Hospital’s cardiac rehab program in Altoona. She changed her focus to research in 2001, working as a senior research analyst at Penn State University, working on various medical and public health projects. She returned to J.C. Blair in 2011 to re-establish the cardiac rehab department after it had been closed for a number of years.
Sheffield is the first in the region to become a certified cardiac rehabilitation professional (CCRP) by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) in 2016 which required 1200 hours of rehab experience and in-depth knowledge of patient assessment, tobacco cessation, exercise training, physical activity counseling, nutrition, weight, blood pressure, blood lipid, diabetes, and psychosocial management.
She has been active in both the Tri-State Society (TSSCVPR) and American Association (AACVPR) for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, serving as past president and newsletter editor of TSSCVPR and on several national committees of AACVPR. She currently serves as the chair of the strategic planning committee and vice president of Pennsylvania for the Tri-State Society of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (TSSCVPR).
Sheffield has been a presenter and motivational speaker for individuals and groups to encourage positive lifestyle change both physically and spiritually. She is married with two sons and enjoys spending time with family and friends and working with her church family and her flower beds at her home in Mill Creek. She and her husband are active reservists for Hope Force International where they have been called to Nigeria, Nepal and Haiti on medical missions after natural disasters.
The Wear Red Ladies After Hours event is sponsored by The Auxiliary to J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital. To learn more about the Auxiliary or how to become a member go to www.jcblair.org/auxiliary, call (814) 251-2740 or email [email protected]. Seating and parking are limited and carpooling is recommended.
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