Hope
It begins with you.
Our Chapter Objectives
We are heart patient and caregiver volunteers, adults young and old, providing support and hope to patients and their caregivers from the diagnosis of heart disease through treatment and beyond.
Mended Hearts
The Bellingham Chapter of Mended Hearts normally meets monthly to offer support and information to all heart patients in our community. Our speakers are cardiologists, heart surgeons, nutritionists, and other health care professionals who offer insights into improving our heart health.
For more information please go to our Contact Page to send a message or contact our message line at 360-788-6928.
From Our
Chapter President,
Dianna Konrad
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Go Red for Women
February is Heart Month. February 7 is National Wear Red Day, the signature program initiated by the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2004 to address awareness and clinical care gaps in cardiovascular disease for women. According to the AHA, nearly 45% of women, ages 20+ are living with some form of heart disease which is still the number one cause of death for women. Heart disease surpasses cancer!
To me this is a shocking statistic. To me that means as women we need to educate ourselves more and we need to share this information with our families and friends. It’s the only way to beat this.
The AHA’s website, Go Red for Women, is full of great information you can use. You can find it here:
https://www.goredforwomen.org. Among the many articles, you will find information on heart attack and stroke symptoms for women. It’s important to recognize that men and women’s symptoms are not the same.
Closer to home, our Jessica Morton has been an ambassador for Go Red for women’s heart issues since her heart transplant. Jessica appeared on national and local TV, in newspapers and even on a billboard last year to draw attention to women’s heart health and to share her heart journey. She is an outstanding example of courage and hope for all of us.
On February 7, we encourage women to Go Red and wear red. And gentlemen, wear something red too to show your support. Then learn more about how you can help your heart stay healthy. We will also help that process during our monthly informational meetings.
Please join us to learn more about cardiovascular health. It could save your life.
Young Mended Hearts
Since April, 2015, we've been inviting all young heart patients (18 to 55) and their families to join other young heart patients and their families for an informal monthly get-together to discuss the common issues, challenges and successes of being a young heart patient.
Please join us. Follow us on Facebook!
Young Mended Hearts of NorthWest Washington
For more information about Young Mended Hearts, please contact Peter Kilcline at kilcline.p@gmail.com
or Dianna Konrad at dmk9@sbcglobal.net
Are You Having Open Heart
Surgery Soon?
Before You Do, Would You Like to Talk with
Someone Who Has?
You can get information and questions answered about what it’s like to go through open heart surgery by watching this video featuring two Mended Heart volunteers who share their experiences as open heart surgery patients. You can also speak with either of these volunteers by contacting them through our “Contact” page.
Our sincere thanks to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center for their encouragement and production of this video.
Awards
Together, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center and Mended Hearts Bellingham are making a difference in our community by supporting heart patients and their caregiver families. These efforts have been acknowledged by the international headquarters of The Mended Hearts, Inc., Albany, GA, with the following awards:
Marilynn Huffman
2023 Western Region Volunteer of the Year
Dianna Konrad
2020 Western Region Volunteer of the Year
PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center
2018 National Hospital of the Year
PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center
2017 Regional Hospital of the Year
PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center
2016 Regional Hospital of the Year
Mended Hearts, Bellingham
2015 President’s Cup Award
For outstanding service in our community
PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Medical Center
2014 Regional Hospital of the Year
The Western Region of Mended Hearts chapters includes the states of California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii
Bequests and Gifts
We sincerely appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity behind the bequests and gifts given to our chapter. This helps us remember and honor those special people while continuing our promise to support all heart patients and their families in our community.
The Ingram Family, Shirley McCraw, The Bishop Family and The Dircks Family, all close friends of Charlie Heinemann and his family, have made a generous gift to our Mended Hearts chapter in memory of John Heinemann.
Scott Swanson presented a generous gift to our Mended Hearts chapter as a bequest from the estate of his parents, Philip and Joyce Swanson.
The estate of Stephen James Brewster made a significant donation to the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation in honor of Mended Hearts, Bellingham. A cath lab patient room in St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center will be named:
Stephen James Brewster
In Honor of Mended Hearts