PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center Foundation’s Red, Set, Go! Heart Luncheon presented by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe raised a record $80,000.
Friday’s total exceeded the 2019 record-breaking total by 11 percent, said Bruce Skinner, executive director of Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
Money from the event at Vern Burton Community Center, which drew 400 people, will be used to fund a cardiovascular ultrasound machine at the OMC Heart Center for echocardiograms to evaluate the structures of the heart and the direction of blood flow within in it.
“Once again, we were able to raise money for something that will save lives,” said event chair Karen Rogers.
The purpose of the educational annual lunch “is to inspire women to learn how to improve their heart health,” Rogers said.
Molly Gellor Smith, from Port Angeles presented the survivor story. Smith was born in Port Angeles with a congenital heart disease — Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects.
She was rushed to Seattle Children’s Hospital where she remained for the first three months of her life. At 9 months old, she underwent closed heart surgery and at 3 years, open heart surgery.
After the last surgery, “was the first time my parents noticed my fingernails were pink. They no longer had a bluish tint,” Smith told the audience Friday.
She grew up an active child and continues skiing and playing soccer now as a mother of two. Her life is normal, she said, except for routine examinations by a cardiologist for the rest of her life and a possible eventual operation to fix a leaky heart value.
“By that time, surgery might not be the only option,” she said.
Advancements are always occurring, said Dr. Kara Kurtz Urnes of Olympic Medical Center.
“The generation before Molly was born didn’t have the technology to do the surgery that saved her life,” she said.
Donations help Olympic Medical Center keep up with innovations, the doctor said, noting that last year, the Red Set Go! luncheon helped fund a nuclear camera for stress testing.
Dr. Sarah Speck, medical director of the Cardiac Wellness and Rehabilitation Programs at Swedish Health and Vascular Institute, said that cardiovascular disease is more prevalent than cancer for both men and women.
“Every 40 seconds, someone in America has a heart attack,” she said. Speck outlined risks of heart disease, all of which grow as one ages.
She outlined what men and women can do to cut their risk, by taking such measures as abstaining from smoking, eating healthy, exercising, keeping a healthy weight, blood pressure and cholesterol and seeking help for stress and depression.
“Eighty percent of reducing our risk is within our own power,” she said.
Skinner said that the OMC Foundation continues to accept donations towards the purchase of the ultrasound machine.
”People interested in contributing can contact our office at 360-417-7144.”
