Vice President of the Employer Health Strategy team for Hello Heart, Jenn Roberts, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss what Hello Heart is doing to improve hearth health education for union members and their work to lower the number of workers suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for adults in America. Hello Heart is an organization that works with employers and unions to empower a worker’s ability to monitor and address the health of their hearts. Utilizing their customized, data-driven plans, workers can improve their health, limit their time off the jobsite due to illness and potentially prevent a major heart issue that could end their career or worse. Roberts described how the program works and what it can do for those at high risk for cardiovascular disease.
Roberts explained that Hello Hearth is working with unions to develop plans to address their members' heart health. She said that women in unions tend to be more susceptible to heart disease than their male counterparts. Not only are they at higher risk, but there are differences in the ways both men and women present symptoms of cardiovascular problems. Hello Heart, she noted, is working to educate unions on what their members need to be aware of when it comes to cardiovascular disease.
Hello Heart has already begun showcasing the power of educating union members about their heart health. In partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 and NECA, they developed the Electrical Welfare Trust Fund (EWTF). Through the EWTF, over 18,000 IBEW members have participated in the program. Roberts discussed the results of this campaign, providing different data points that showcased the power of education. About 75 percent of participants were able to lower their heart risk, and recorded an average drop in their blood pressure of 16 points, a change that Roberts said could be life-saving.
Listen to the show above to hear more about the work Hello Heart is doing with unions.
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