GREENVILLE — The Darke County Commissioners signed a proclamation on Tuesday declaring February as Heart Health Awareness Month. The proclamation encourages local residents to take great care of their heart, eat well, and get preventative screenings.

Heart Disease is the number one cause of death in the nation. February is heart health awareness month, and at Wayne HealthCare that means it is time to celebrate Pump Month. Taking great care of your heart, eating well, getting preventative screenings, these are important year-round to love your heart and prioritize your health. Wayne HealthCare and Wayne HealthCare Foundation are happy to offer discounted preventative screenings and lots of heart health education this month as part of its pump month celebration. February is the month of love and self-care is a great way to care for your heart. It is never too early to start taking care of your cardiovascular system. Wayne HealthCare & Wayne HealthCare Foundation, Menke Family, Midmark and Spirit are honored to work with the Darke Commissioner’s to proclaim February as Pump Month for Darke County.

Wayne HealthCare and Wayne HealthCare Foundation have teamed up to provide discounted preventative screenings, for our community members through our new initiative, the Bob Menke HeartWise Initiative. Vascular Ultrasound screenings are discounted all throughout 2024 through this wonderful initiative. Lipid Panel blood work and EKGs are also discounted for the month of February as the hospital’s pump month promotion. These preventative screenings play a pivotal role in identifying any potential heart issues and giving community members a baseline of their heart health before issues may arise or escalate into major problems. By detecting abnormalities early, healthcare professionals can intervene and implement strategies to mitigate the risk of heart disease.

In August of 2015, Bob Menke and his daughter Lauren were out for a run. Bob led a healthy lifestyle, but Bob was unaware of a silent issue in his body, his heart had a blockage. Being in his late-30s, heart prevention screenings were not necessarily standard medical tests yet for a person of his age and health. As they returned home from their run, Bob collapsed and tragically passed away. He was an engineer at Midmark Corporation and his kids were in the Versailles school system. He was a big part of the community and his family, community and Midmark wanted to help tell his story. This has now become a wonderful legacy in Bob’s honor to educate others about the importance of heart health, healthy eating, active lifestyles, and also getting screened to try to change outcomes for the better. His daughter Lauren is now at Case Western with plans to study to become a medical doctor and possibly a cardiologist in her future. The four-mile for heart and health was set up in the fall of 2016 and was held annually through 2022 to assist with offering these screenings at a discount to the community.

This past year the family worked with Wayne HeaIthCare Foundation to establish an endowment in Bob’s memory — The Bob Menke HeartWise Initiative, which matches community donations to assist with the sustainability of this life-saving program. All of the community is welcome to get involved with this Initiative through donations for the local community heart health screenings and programs as well as share the heart health education with your loved ones. The goal is to help everyone understand their heart health and hopefully save lives in the process. The hospital is excited to feature Lauren Menke in an upcoming video about heart health and the Bob Menke HeartWise Initiative and they encourage the community to watch their social media pages to view this important and powerful message. As Lauren Menke stated, “The VascuIar Screening Program could have saved my dad’s life. I want to honor him by helping change the outcome for others.”

There are many heart health programs that Wayne HealthCare offers to the community. The Wellness Center offers exercise programs, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation helping you get back to your best after a heart or breathing issue, diabetes services, Lifesteps weight management program, and much more. Wayne HealthCare’s local Cardiovascular Center is accepting patients and staffs a local cardiologist, Dr. Dulin as well as local Physician Assistant (PA) Brandon Beyke. The Foundation has an AED program for local non-profits with Midmark, Spirit and Greenville Rotary to assist with placement of AEDs and CPR/AED training for quick response in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Upcoming Pump Month event schedule includes:

Feb. 13 – Diabetes Wellness Program at Wayne HealthCare

Feb. 13 – Heart Art at Wayne HealthCare

Feb. 14 – Wayne HeaIthCare featuring on Community Ties with WTGR Tiger Radio Feb. 20 – Get to the Heart of the Matter at Brethren Retirement Community

Feb. 20 – Healthy Moments featuring Dr. Dulin and Brandon Beyke at Wayne HealthCare

Feb. 27 – Cooking for the Heart Cooking Demonstration at Wayne HealthCare

Contact Wayne HealthCare Foundation at 937-569-6408 or visit the website to learn more, read their heart health blog: A Holistic Approach through Preventative Screenings, or donate online at waynehealthcare.org.