Dr. Oz joins Penn Medicine and AHA at West Philly church to tackle high blood pressure and promote healthy living
Penn Medicine and the American Heart Association (AHA) co-organized an event at the Second Antioch Baptist Church in West Philadelphia, one of the sites for the Penn Medicine/AHA “Team Up to Take Down Blood Pressure” initiative.
CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System Kevin Mahoney, MBA, and Pastor Rev Dr. Joe E. Nock opened up the program.
AHA Chief Medical Officer for Prevention Dr. Eduardo Sanchez (a CHIBE External Advisory Board Member) spoke about the importance of blood pressure control, and Penn Medicine Family Medicine Chair Dr. Rich Wender spoke about the importance of chronic condition management.
CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp thanked the church volunteers who support 5,000 people a month with access to healthy food and described the AHA Health Care by Food initiative’s goals of building evidence to make healthy food more accessible to people with chronic conditions, the importance of federal funding in supporting research on what works for whom, and the body of work done at CHIBE that has created a foundation for improving health for a variety of chronic conditions.
Dr. Volpp introduced Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who discussed the importance of blood pressure control, eating healthy, and other aspects of healthy living. He had a volunteer from the audience whose blood pressure he took to demo to the audience before in a light moment he had her take his blood pressure.
The visit concluded with a tour of the food pantry from which the church supplies food to 5,000 people a month.
CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp welcoming Dr. Mehmet Oz
Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, the Chief Medical Officer for Prevention for the American Heart Association and a CHIBE External Advisory Board Member, addresses the audience
Dr. Oz has his blood pressure taken by a volunteer from the audience
From left: UPHS CEO Kevin Mahoney, MBA; AHA Chief Medical Officer for Prevention Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp