Helping you stay heart-healthy…
Why are we here? To help…
I was visiting heart patients at Glenbrook Hospital on a recent Thursday , something I and another chapter member do regularly to provide emotional support. I walked into one woman’s room as she was finishing with a nurse and saw that she seemed to be in considerable pain.
“Why is God keeping me here,” she lamented in a loud voice to the nurse. The nurse did not answer. The woman, still in destress, saw me standing quietly by the door. “This spiritual man is going to tell me,” she said to the departing nurse.
How would you have responded?
(more…)Hear about depression & heart disease
Heart patients routinely wrestle with depression, shock and other emotional traumas during and after their heart procedures. Those who were exceptionally fit or athletic before their first heart incident can be especially traumatized as can those with multiple conditions which complicate their treatments. Join us in September to hear a mental health expert discuss the emotional and psychological challenges we all face. We’re thrilled to have back Damita Cravens, a mental health therapist and life coach, to speak with us Tuesday, Oct. 13, about how depression impacts heart patients and what they can do to cope with it.You can join us in-person at Evanston Hospital, Room 1711A on the 2nd floor opposite the Frank auditorium. 6:30 p.m., If you can’t join us in person, use this link to join via Zoom. |
Join us to find out how to navigate the insurance maze
Fall means examining your medical insurance and, perhaps, changing plans. Whether you’re on Medicare or buy plans from an online exchange or elsewhere, there’s a lot you need to know about the ever-changing world of medical insurance.
Come hear our September speaker, Joseph Gladis, answer all your questions at our meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Gladis has more than 20 years experience as a licensed Illinois-based health and life agent. He’s trained other brokers to work in Medicare for United Healthcare and Flexible Benefit.
In 2015, he decided to make Medicare education his primary focus.
So bring all your insurance questions, this should be an information-packed meeting. Gladis will be Zooming in for his discussion with us.
You can join us in-person at Evanston Hospital, Room 1711A on the 2nd floor opposite the Frank auditorium.
If you can’t join us in person, use this link to join via Zoom.
Chef Tom returns in July for summer heart-healthy cooking
Chef Tom Winklebeck, himself a heart disease survivor and a prior guest of our chapter, will be returning to us at our July 14 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Plans at the moment are to get at Evanston Hospital as usual. But we would love to find an outdoor venue to turn this meeting into a Tuesday night food fest. So please let us know if you have a place available that we could use.
Chef Tom changed his life both personally and professionally after his major run-in with heart problems. He now focuses on heart-healthy cooking and eating and has made us some amazing dishes in the past.
Join us in July to see what he cooks up this time.
Mended Hearts annual meeting online, this Friday, June 26
Hear what Mended Hearts is doing on a. national and local level during its annual meeting, online this Friday, June 26, at 3 p.m. central time. To join, simply register at this link. It’s free.
The national organization is in the midst of a major leadership change. Natalie Crawford joined as executive director effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Crawford has been working closely with Mended Hearts outgoing CEO Al Voss in a one-year transition period. So this will be her first annual meeting.
Crawford has built a career focused on launching, building and leading mission-driven organizations at moments of scale and transition. Most recently, she founded Georgia First, a nonprofit policy think tank and advocacy organization focused on healthcare-supporting, economic opportunity and democratic governance.
Our chapter, meanwhile, is also hoping to win several more awards for our efforts in the past year to do more community outreach to prevent heart disease. Awards will be given out during the annual meeting. See you (virtually) there.
Come take a walk in the late-day sun at the Chicago Botanic Gardens
Our May meeting will repeat a favorite from last year — we’re getting free admission to the Chicago Botanic Garden for a guided tour. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, again a bit earlier than usual, but it’s the time the Garden can take us. The Garden is just off of 94 at the Lake-Cook Road exit. Exit going east and you’ll drive by the entrance. Check in at the gate house as you enter.
We need to let them know who will be coming. The gatehouse will ahve a name list. So if you’d like to attend, please email me at johnnfrank@gmail.com or try the from below.
Let me know if you’ll be bringing a guest or coming solo.
Thanks, see you in the wild up there (can you tell I’m a city kid at heart?)
Photos from last year’s garden walk.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Leave a comment