August 1, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode of Insight, we’re highlighting three powerful community events making a difference in our region. First, we spotlight the Nicetown CDC Giveback Festival, an annual North Philly tradition filled with music, resources, and empowerment. Guests Majeedah Rashid, COO of Nicetown CDC, Zakariyya Abdur Rahman, President & CEO, and Tammy Boney, Production Manager and host, share how the festival promotes safety, wellness, and unity.
🔗 Learn more: www.nicetowncdc.org
📱 Social: Facebook, Instagram, X — @NicetownCDC
Next, we preview the 5th Anniversary of Hip Hop in the Park, organized by graffiti legend Chris "TAMEARTZ" Rodriguez. Join the celebration of Hip Hop’s four elements—Art, Dance, Rap, and DJ/MC—with mural painting, breakdance battles, and more.
📅 Saturday, August 9, 2025 | 🕛 12–9:30 PM
📍 Eakins Oval, Philadelphia, PA
🔗 RSVP: rabble.io event page
📱 Instagram: @tameartz | Facebook: TAMEARTZ
Finally, we’re joined by Dr. Kirk Noel Garratt, Medical Director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at ChristianaCare and former president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. A nationally recognized leader in interventional cardiology, Dr. Garratt shares his insights on prevention, education, and equity in cardiovascular care—and invites listeners to the 2025 Wilmington Heart Walk, happening Sunday, September 7 at Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park.
Event Details: 🗓 Date: Sunday, September 7, 2025
📍 Location: Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park, Wilmington, DE
🕗 8:00 AM: Event Opens | 🚶 9:30 AM: Walk Begins
🔗 Register: heart.org/wilmingtonwalk
Social Media: 📱 Instagram & X: @American_Heart
📘 Facebook: @AmericanHeart
🧠 Hashtag: #WilmingtonHeartWalk #HeartWalkDE #CPRSavesLives
🔗 Learn more: www.nicetowncdc.org
📱 Social: Facebook, Instagram, X — @NicetownCDC
Next, we preview the 5th Anniversary of Hip Hop in the Park, organized by graffiti legend Chris "TAMEARTZ" Rodriguez. Join the celebration of Hip Hop’s four elements—Art, Dance, Rap, and DJ/MC—with mural painting, breakdance battles, and more.
📅 Saturday, August 9, 2025 | 🕛 12–9:30 PM
📍 Eakins Oval, Philadelphia, PA
🔗 RSVP: rabble.io event page
📱 Instagram: @tameartz | Facebook: TAMEARTZ
Finally, we’re joined by Dr. Kirk Noel Garratt, Medical Director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at ChristianaCare and former president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. A nationally recognized leader in interventional cardiology, Dr. Garratt shares his insights on prevention, education, and equity in cardiovascular care—and invites listeners to the 2025 Wilmington Heart Walk, happening Sunday, September 7 at Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park.
Event Details: 🗓 Date: Sunday, September 7, 2025
📍 Location: Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park, Wilmington, DE
🕗 8:00 AM: Event Opens | 🚶 9:30 AM: Walk Begins
🔗 Register: heart.org/wilmingtonwalk
Social Media: 📱 Instagram & X: @American_Heart
📘 Facebook: @AmericanHeart
🧠 Hashtag: #WilmingtonHeartWalk #HeartWalkDE #CPRSavesLives
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show dedicated to
empowering our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel. Today we'll be
highlighting a powerful celebration of culture and creativity, the fifth
anniversary of Hip Hop in the Park, honoring the four
foundational elements of hip hop, art, dance, rap and djaying.
We'll also hear from doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director
(00:23):
of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care.
We'll talk about the upcoming twenty twenty five Wilmington Heart
Walk and the importance of heart health. But first we
begin with a look at an inspiring community event hosted
by an organization working to uplift the Nicetown neighborhood. Today
we're spotlighting the Nicetown CDC give Back Festival and annual
(00:44):
community celebration that brings together families, local leaders, and organizations
for a weekend of music, resources and empowerment in the
heart of North Philadelphia. Joining us our Magda Rashid, COO
of Nicetown Community to Development Corporation, also with the corporation
President and CEO, Zachariah Abduura Rockman, and the production manager
(01:04):
for this event and host Tammy body. Want to thank
you all for joining us here today. I'll start with you, Majita.
Can you tell us about the history and mission of
Nice Town CDC and how to give back festival came
to life?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Well, the mission of the Nice Town CDC propably shared
that is that we've been working hard to improve the
quality of life the Nice Town and the surrounding communities.
And we've done that over the years with strategic planning,
a lot of community input. We say we are a
resident driven organization, So with the planning and inclusion of
(01:38):
the community, we embarked on our mission and we've grown
over the years to do supportive services, affordable housing development,
commercial quaritor revitalization, and we have a host of programs.
Particularly we have three programs now that address the gun
violence in the community.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So we do a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We have housing projects that are going on, affordable housing
projects that are going on right now that kind of
focused on the stabilizing the housing stock around a couple
of our developments. We are part of the Rebuilt initiative
in the city and we're the developer for two major
rebuild projects. One is in at Barrett Playground, which is
(02:18):
going to be Barrett Recreation Center and that's in Logan.
The other is in the Haddington area of Philadelphia and
West Philadelphia and that's the Shepherd Recreation Center. So a
lot of what we do is connected. Everything we do
is one thing connects to the other, and it's all
about trying to establish self reliance of communities and from
(02:40):
economic development. The history of the Giveback Festival is something
that's close to our hearts. It kind of came from
a well known rapper from Nicetown that went by the
name of Miss Jade at the time, Shavin Young. She
had mentioned to her dad that why can't we do
a celebration in our local park. We have two parks
(03:02):
in Nicetown and the one she was referencing was Stanton Park.
Once I heard about that, we connected with her and
she was very hot at the time and just came
and met with me in the middle of the night,
and she started calling all her friends, and of course
her friends at that time were Bbe Segull and the
(03:22):
whole State Property crew happen to be on a Rock
to Mike tour with Kanye at that time, so they
came to the give Back That was our first one
and they did it.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
They gave back Ye.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Since then, we've moved the festival to our commercial carter
to our other park in Nicetown Park to kind of
emphasize and celebrate what we do as far as commercial
corridor revitalization. We have several things going.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
On, Zechara. I wonder if you can talk about how
the festival reflects Nice Town CDC's broader mission of community development,
safety and neighborhood revitalization.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yes, thank you Lorane for having us. I just want
to dovetail on Megeta the festival. We look back, we
have a lot of history to take from as relates
to how festivals and power and engaged community with the
Family Unity Day that was hosted by WDAS and our
friends down there, and a Black Family Reunion that with
(04:21):
Barbiadaniel Cox.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Back in the day, right.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, Jazz with.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Or We said on all those committees, I was on
the steering committee with ORC and so it was Megeta
and so we looked at how those events served us
engine drivers for the empowerment of local communities, and we
wanted to do the same for Nicetown. We on a
commercial quarter, we had space that was depressed and underutilized.
(04:52):
So we said, you know, moving from Stanton Park to
Nicetown Park, let's use this as a catalyst to do
improvement to the only nice Town Park, which we had
got a grant from ORG that helped us in our
initial days put right back into the park and do
some cleanups and so forth and so on. We sat
to ourselves, Well, let's get the community involved, and let's
(05:13):
utilize this as a stage to empower the whole a
commercial cord and thus form the community what we could
do as a result of working together and organizing and
improving the conditions and the quality of life in our
own community.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Well, you all have been doing such a wonderful job
hanging in there. So Tammy, let's move to you. You
are the production manager and host, and I think that
everyone is very anxious to hear what people can expect
when they come to the Nice Town give Back Festival.
Give us all the details and also the time, location
and all the good stuff. So tell us more.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Well, we had free days. I'm going to say free
because we're going to start it off with a press
conference and a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, August seventh,
three hundred Germantown Avenue right at nice Town Park. The
entertainment and all the community act community activities will start
on Friday. We're starting Friday again forty three hundred Germantown
(06:12):
Avenue and our brand new Amphitheater stage area. We have
two stages this year, Lorraine, we have two, So we're
going to start on Friday. With the Tzar Memorial Scholarship
funds and I'm sure Zach and Mejia can talk a
little bit more about that, but we have scholarships for
giving out.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
To community students.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
We have a sponsor that's going to be doing that,
giving them actually book scholarships to ten local residents students
going on to college. So that's really really going to
be great for Friday. That's when we followed up with
some local community open mic singers. We like to make
sure the community gets a chance to get some exposure
on stage and get their family out, get the crowd out.
We're actually going to have line dances going on through
(06:51):
the country, so we're going to have a boots on
the ground instruction going on out there on Friday.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You had me at Hello on that one. Go ahead, continue.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
To have that. You know what I didn't mention we
have a drum line actually starting off. This is Art
Memorial Scholarship, so we do have a drum line. It's
coming out, bringing the students out this Friday. We have
some featured artists happening on that and that's the Amphitheater
stage that's in the park. While that's going on, we're
gonna be on Germanytown Avenue. On German Chown Avenue, we
have Ricky Duncan dance competition that's really really popular.
Speaker 6 (07:24):
This year.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Everyone's out, all the kids are out, so we have
a Ricky Duncan Dance competition followed by DJ Philly Slim's
Underground Railroad production. He's been doing this about three years now,
bringing community rappers, open word artists out, all clean, all fun,
just exciting activity for the youth on that Friday. We're
following this year, we're doing a teen summit this time
(07:45):
on Friday evening with some dynamic speakers. Following that back up,
DJ Philly Slims will come back with some of his
production and we'll have some more entertainment by local youth
of Philadelphia. Saturday, forty three hundred German Town Avenue, We're
gonna start with our Wolfburg Peace Walk, which happens in
Germantown and goes to the community. It's going to have
thinking of a dance, more of a drumline we have
(08:07):
for that one. We have entertainment on two stages again
Amputhur Stage. We're going to have two live bands. We're
going to have Groo Cittisen Richard Warrior, and we're going
to have on the main stage or I'm going to
get to Germantown stage. They're both main stages. This is
nice Town, so we have two stage. On the Germantown
stage we will have perfect combination a War tribute band
(08:28):
or for an and Fire tribute band and headline this
year will be the Chuck Brown Band out of DC.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You've got an amazing lineup and the best part about
it is that it's free and their resources for the
community and it is powered by such great individuals such
as yourselves and the volunteers that you bring to the
table to make this all happen. It's all about Nice
Town CDC Give Back Festival. It is a celebration that
brings together families, leaders, organizations for music, resources and empowerment
(08:58):
in the heart of North Philadelphiajita. If people want more information,
where do they go for all the details?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So get more information, you can call our community center
that numbers two one five three two nine one eight
two four, or you can email us at info at
NICETOWNCDC dot org.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Fantastic. Well, we'll see you there on the eighth and
the ninth of August for a two day wonderful celebration,
an opportunity to get to know Nicetown and for those
who living in Nicetown to enjoy all the great resources
and the family fund that's going to be available on
those two days for this Nicetown CDC's Giveback Festival. I
want to thank you all for joining us here. Zachariah
(09:39):
Abduah Rochmann, President and CEO, Majita Rashid COO, both of
Nicetown Community Development Corporation. And you don't want to miss
the opportunity to see the fine host of this event,
Tammy Bony, production manager and host. She'll be out there
on stage introducing all this fabulous entertainment. Thank you all
for joining us here today and see you a nice town.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Thank you, Thank.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
You you're listening to Insight. It's the fifth anniversary of
a festival called hip Hop in the Park. Joining us
to tell us all about is Tam Arts. Tam Arts
is an artist and a community activist and he is
here to tell us all about it. So Tam Arts
tell us what is this event? Fifth anniversary for this festival,
(10:24):
what is it?
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Well, thank you so much, Loreene for having me. Yeah,
hip Hop in the Park is a celebration for all
the hip hop elements and culture and community. That's like
the biggest thing that I like to convey to people.
The reason behind the festival was to bring community together
and have that old school feeling of like the seventies
and eighties when people will go and gather at parks
(10:46):
and enjoy music together.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, when we talk about hip hop and the history
of hip hop, it has a very rich history and
cultural impact. When you're talking about say old school and
the origins of hip hop, I wonder if you can
talk a little bit about how it fits into culture,
whether it's Black culture, Latino culture, or just culture in general.
What is the importance of these hip hop elements? And
(11:09):
we're talking about the music, we're talking about the dance,
we're talking about the graffiti. How the Wallart tell us
all about that.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
So hip hop itself is the culture, right, and then
you have like these subcultures or elements that are part
of it, as you just mentioned B Boy in Breaking,
which is the dancing aspect, the graffiti aspect, the DJ
and the mcs. The importance of that is understanding community
and understanding the strengths that come when we unite, right,
So knowing that all these elements existed at one point
(11:37):
on their own, but coming together they you know, they
created this thing that we now call hip hop that
now essentially is the largest and most influential culture in
the world. Is the music itself could be heard in
all parts of the world as well as the dance
and graffiti is something that's all over the world as well.
It is very rich in the Black and Hispanic community,
(12:00):
being that in its inception, it was berthed out of
the struggles from these communities, in the Bronx specifically, So
when you think about the Bronx, you know, sixties and seventies,
the Bronx was literally burning, right, People were burning down buildings,
people you know, were doing fraud for tax reasons or
for insurance reasons. So I left a group of young
(12:24):
teenagers in despair to have to play and get creative
in the rubble of what the adults around them was
doing and out of that.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
That's why I've always said that hip hop was born
out of poverty, but rich in the minds and in
the hearts.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And I feel like that's something that.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Comes from you know, black and Hispanic community, specifically during
that time, the Puerto Rican community.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Well, let's talk about your history. Tell us more about
your connection with hip hop. You are an artist, tell
us more about what tam arts is all about.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Yeah, so tam arts as an individual and as an artist,
I'm a hip hop ambassador. I am a muralist. I
like to say I'm kind of like a Swiss knife
of things. I do brand consulting for a lot of brands,
you know. I've done brand consulting for like Nike, Reebok,
the NFL, the Sixers, Phillies. So I've been able to
travel a lot and do a lot of things. I
(13:20):
travel a lot with Red Bull, doing workshops and teaching
hip hop one on one. As a muralist, I've traveled
the world painting and expressing myself through graffiti, street art,
and done brand acquisitions as well through my art, so yeah,
you know, and most importantly, I always like to say
that I'm a father and a husband first, so that
(13:42):
I feel like those things have strengthened me and has
also showed me how to be a better muralist and
a better consultant and things like that. Just you know,
being grounded at home has helped me be a better
person out in the world.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yeah, well, I think what's been so fascinating because I
can't say I'm an expert at all, but I was
involved in the early days of the Anti Graffiti Network
and Tim Spencer back in the day and we're talking
about the eighties, and I saw how that organization was
able to leverage for so many wall artists an opportunity
to take their art beyond just the walls, but to
(14:18):
be able to make a living from it. And I
think you're just a fine example of how you've been
able to take your creative expression, which was very much
started in the street, but to expand it to the
point where you're making a living. You're you're very influential
in so many different ways, and so that has been
an extraordinary journey for a number, not all, but a
(14:38):
number of wall writers who so expressive. I mean, you know,
when you think about it, if you look beyond one's
judgment about a graffiti and waal art, you can see
some remarkable artistic expression.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Right. Yes, I agree, A completely agree. I feel like
art is definitely in the eye of the beholder. I
really do believe that as well. There is a different
when you could see somebody really truly pour their heart
into something that they're doing. Like you said, is whether
you are a huge fan of it or not, you
could definitely agree that somebody put their love into it
and it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Well, tell us specifically about the fifth anniversary of Hip
Hop in the Park. What's the date, the location and
the time and how can people find out?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
More So, as you mentioned, this is the fifth anniversary
hip Hop in the Park. The biggest thing I like
to share with everybody that it is free, and it
has been free since its inception, and that's a goal
to mind to continue to offer it for free, to
give people kind of like and understanding. The first year
we started and we had about roughly two hundred attendees
(15:42):
last and we did it at a small park in
North Philly. Years two till now we've been doing it
in the location at Egan's Oval, right in front of
the Art Museum, and last year we had over eleven
five hundred people in attendance throughout the day.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
So just the growth in itself has been incredible.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
I can't say that I've done this on my own,
you know, it's definitely it has been possible due to
partners and sponsors that I've had throughout the year. One
in particular, which is our presenting partner for the past
three years, has been Snipes. I've done a lot of
work with them throughout the years, and they see and
understand the mission of what I'm trying to do, and
(16:21):
you know, it's been through them that you know, We've
been able to continue to offer this festival for free
to the community. The festival again takes place Saturday, August ninth,
and it's at all day events. Starts at at noon
ends at nine thirty pm. Attendees could you know, come
and experience a multiple of things such as live art
throughout the day. We have artists coming from New York, Florida, Texas,
(16:44):
and Philly coming to Paint Live.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Will also have you know, slew of talent that'll be
there as well.
Speaker 6 (16:50):
We have world class DJs this year headlining such as
Rich Mendina and Cosmo Baker, Philly legends.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
That now travel the world and do some incredible you know.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
DJ and crowd maintenance you know, throughout the whole world
as well. As we have legendary Corig g from the
Juice Crew coming up as well, and then we have
a slew of local talent on the bill as well.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
We will also.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
Have a huge vendor market with about thirty to forty vendors,
predominantly black and brown vendors, small businesses and you know,
a slew of food trucks.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Sounds fantastic. So if people want more information, where did
they go?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
So for more information?
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Although it's free, in order for us to continue to
keep offering it for free, I can't share this enough.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I need people to RSVP.
Speaker 6 (17:41):
That's how we're able to share the data with our partners,
to let them know that they're basically their input and
their investment is making sense. You know for them is
to go to go is go o dot rabble r
A B B L E dot iolash hhiitp twenty five
(18:05):
and that is for the RSVP.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And I could send you that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
To make it even more easier, people can go to
my Instagram at Team Arts with a Z at the
end and the link is a mobio.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
So that's an easier way of getting it.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Fantastic because I already lost you after you've said io.
Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that's great, so go to your
Instagram and check out the link there. I want to
thank you so much for joining us. Kristen Tame Arts Rodriguez,
who is an artist, a producer and a historian of
hip hop talking about the fifth anniversary of the festival
(18:38):
hip Hop in the Park.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Today we're joined by doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director
of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana
Care and former President of the Society for Cardiovascular and
Giography and Interventions. That's a mouthful with a career spanning
many decades of innovation, research leadership in cardiology. Doctor Garrett
is a passionate advocate for prevention, education and equity in
(19:06):
cardiovascular care. He's lending his voice and expertise to support
the twenty twenty five Wilmington Heart Walk, happening Sunday, September
seventh at Tubman Garrett Rearfront Park. A beautiful park to
have such a wonderful walk, it's a powerful event advancing
the life saving mission of the American Heart Association. Well,
we'll begin doctor Garrett with this question. With your deep
(19:27):
background in interventional cardiology, why is the Wilmington Heart Walk
especially meaningful to you, both personally and professionally.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
Well, thanks, Ryan, it's really a privilege to spend time
with you. This event in Wilmington is important to me
personally because of all the cardiac problems that you can have,
of all the things that can go wrong with a
heart or a cardiovascular system. It remains true that in
America today, heart attacks, that is, blockages of the blood
(19:56):
vessels that provide nutrient to the heart muscle, continue to
be a lead problem and a leading cause of death
among Americans. Although the Heart Walk isn't focused solely on
that problem, I can say with certainty that the majority
of people that come out and walk are doing so
because they have had a personal experience with this kind
(20:16):
of heart problem. And I'm no exception. My mother died
of a sudden cardiac death while I was away, and
although I didn't go into medicine or cardiology because of
that event, that event underscored to me personally how important
it is that we pay attention to the things that
can keep our hearts healthy, with special emphasis right now
(20:36):
on those things that cause blockages of heart arteries and
lead to heart attacks and death.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
You mentioned your mom, and I'm very sorry for your loss,
and I think that's something that people don't know or
are not as aware of as perhaps he should be.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Heart disease is actually, I think the number one cause
of death for women. And that's something that we don't
tend to think of because we're always stuck with that
image of men clutching their arm or their chest and
a sort of the difficult thinking that men are more
likely or liable to have heart attacks than women. But
that's just not the case, and it also presents itself
differently in women than men.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
Right, That's absolutely right, and it remains a huge challenge.
You know, we've been talking about this issue of women
being under recognized as being at risk for a long
time now, but I feel that we just haven't gotten
the message through as effectively as we need. If you
were to stop any person on the street, man or
woman and ask what's the leading cause of death among men.
(21:29):
I think they would say probably heart disease. And if
you ask, well, what's the leading cause of death among women, well,
maybe breast cancer, maybe some I don't know, gynecologic problem. No,
it's heart disease. In the same things that cause heart
disease in men cause heart disease in women. So in
many ways it simplifies our work here. We just need
to get people aware of the fact that lack of exercise,
(21:52):
tobacco exposure, poor dietary choices, allowing medical conditions like hypertension
and diabetes to go unj is the leading causes of
the leading disease in America that causes death in both
men and in women.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah, it's so important to raise awareness, especially for women
because oftentimes the symptoms can be very different for women
than for men. Now you've said that this walk is
more than just a community event. It is a movement
and what kind of impact can it make across Delaware
and beyond.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
Right, Well, let's not forget that we live in a very,
very complex community. We live in a complex healthcare ecosystem
that's tangled up more than ever in the way that
our political leaders behave. I started engaging in the American
Heart Association Heart Walk as a way of displaying publicly
to my community my personal commitment to leading change that
(22:47):
will empower and improve the health of community members. More
and more, though, I think of it now as a
public display that goes beyond just the community and makes
visible to our local leaders and through them, our state
and national leaders, the importance of providing support for the
work that needs to get done to keep Americans healthy.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
The American Heart Association is focused on building a nation
of life savers. What is CPR awareness and education? Why
is it such a critical part of this year's walk.
Speaker 7 (23:18):
Thanks so much for asking that question, Because the American
Heart Association has done so much over the years to
improve health, largely through funding research projects that helped us
understand what were the causes behind all these bad events
happening so that we could develop preventive therapies, medications, surgical techniques,
and the like. Now, of course, American Heart Association is
(23:39):
also very deeply involved in public education, and that starts
at the schools with training programs that orient young kids
and young adults to how their personal choices can impact
their cardiovascular health and risk, and recently that has grown
into a training program and an isition sponsored by the
(24:01):
American Heart Association to help folks know what to do
if they run across someone who has suddenly sustained a
cardiac arrest. Part of that is learning how to do
CPR bystander CPR, and there is a mouth free CPR
technique that can keep someone alive until medical personnel can arrive.
That's been enormously important in helping us save lives. And
(24:25):
then of course, learning how to use these automated external
defibrillators another mouthful. I know, I'm sorry, but these AED
devices are basically those shocking tools that can correct a
heart rhythm if it's gone out a whack, and it's
a life saving therapy that can be available to everyone
in the community.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
We were delighted at iHeart to host a couple of
years ago CPR training and it was really interesting because
I didn't realize how hard I had to go in
to do the thing properly. You really need to do
hands on. You can't really tell somebody how to do CPR.
You actually have to practice it right. You have to
get the feel for.
Speaker 7 (25:01):
It that's right. And that's why an agency like AHA
is such an important partner here. Just telling you how
to do it would be helpful. You then have an
understanding of what that involves. But as you've just said,
until you actually do it, you don't really have a
sense of just how do I do? I push hard?
Am I pushing too hard?
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Is it not hard enough?
Speaker 7 (25:17):
And make no mistake, a CPR that's not done correctly
and is ineffective doesn't work. It's not going to keep
that poor, unfortunate person going until help can arrive. So
the AHA has gone out with models that not only
allow you to put your hands on plastic human being
and practice this, but they also have tricks and techniques
to help you remember how hard to push you know,
(25:39):
what tempo do you use? How fast do you go?
Super super effective? And we're really lucky to have them
in the community doing this work.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, that's fantastic. Now, let's talk about disparities in CPR response,
especially for black and brown adults. How do events like
this help address those inequities?
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Right?
Speaker 7 (25:59):
You know, this is a we usually become a little
more complicated recently, but the fact remains that if you
look at communities rich in black and brown skinned people,
you will often find heightened rates of not just heart disease,
but those underpinnings of heart disease, those conditions, those chronic
(26:19):
problems like hypertension and diabetes that ultimately lead to strokes
and heart attacks. It's very important, then, if we're serious
about moving the needle on this and saving lives, that
we not just empower people to be effective bystanders and
not just create more effective tools for doctors and the
teams that work with them to care for people in
(26:40):
a crisis. We have to get upstream. We have to
help people understand the things that will contribute to their
heart disease and help them be informed in a manner
that leads to better choices regarding tobacco exposure, exercise, food choices,
management of their chronic conditions. And to say that that
that's not a problem among our black and brown community
(27:03):
members would be unfair and untrue. It's not a problem
that's unique to those individuals, but it is a problem
that impacts them to a greater degree than others. I
think it's fair and important that we walk toward that.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yes, health disparities, we need to close that gap. What
role does Christiana Care play in advancing heart health and
how are you collaborating with the American Heart Association.
Speaker 7 (27:24):
Well, first of all, I'm exceedingly proud to be a
member of the Christianic Care team. It's a wonderful, wonderful
organization that has, in my opinion, all the right ideas
about how we need to go forward and improve the
health and welfare of our community. Christiana Care selects each
year to partner with just a few agencies that are
(27:46):
related to community health and partner with them effectively, and
I'm very happy that the American Heart Association is one
of those trusted partner organizations for Christianic Care. That relationship,
which has existed for a very long time, now allows
Christianity Care and the American Heart Association to partner in
community education events, activities like the Heart Walk for example,
(28:09):
the Heart Gala, the Go Red for Women event, in
a host of things. Christianity Care supports those activities financially, yes,
but also by providing engagement between caregivers within the organization
like myself and that agency. For example, a young woman
who helps coordinate our acute care processes that is the
(28:30):
heart Attack Patience of Christianity Care, A woman named Jennifer
Oldham is an expert in training CPR, so she goes
out with the AGA teams with those plastic models to
help do that teaching that I spoke to a minute ago.
That's just one example of the kind of partnership that
we enjoy.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, that's wonderful. For those who are thinking about joining
this walk, what would you say to encourage them to
register walk and support this cause.
Speaker 7 (28:55):
Well, it's very easy to do. Go ahead and register
at the AHA website. That would be lovely, But golly,
you don't have to Just come down On September seventh,
sometime around eight eight thirty in the morning, sun's going
to be up, there's going to be coffee around, there's
usually music playing, lots of vendors stands with fresh fruits
and vegetables and the like, and a great crowd. There's
(29:18):
always a great crowd. And then right about nine point
thirty the alarm will sound and we'll all begin walking,
a lovely, lovely easy walk along the riverfront there in
the Wilmington community. And of course, you know this isn't
an Olympic competition. You know, you walk to your heart's content,
walk with the distance you like, and jog if you like.
(29:39):
We have people doing that. It's a great event to
do with your kids, with your dog, with your neighbor.
Just come on out and enjoy the day and show
your community that you do support the activities of the
American Heart Association in preserving the health and welfare of
our communities.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Very important event again, it's the twenty twenty five Wilmington
Heart Walk Sunday, September seventh at the Tubman Garrett Riverfront
Park Park. A powerful event advancing the life saving mission
of the American Heart Association. The event opens up at
eight o'clock and the walk begins at nine point thirty.
For more information, you can go to heart dot org
slash Wilmington Walk. Doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director of
(30:15):
the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care,
former President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions,
and I have to say, doctor Garrett, your bedside manner,
your calm voice. I would love to have you by
my bedside. You've got that great bedside manner and such
an important message to share with all of our listeners.
So thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Lauren.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in Keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio Appy Word's Philadelphia Community Podcast.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard. I'm
Lorraine Ballard Morrel and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(31:00):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show dedicated to
empowering our community. I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel. Today we'll be
highlighting a powerful celebration of culture and creativity, the fifth
anniversary of Hip Hop in the Park, honoring the four
foundational elements of hip hop, art, dance, rap and djaying.
We'll also hear from doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director
(00:23):
of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care.
We'll talk about the upcoming twenty twenty five Wilmington Heart
Walk and the importance of heart health. But first we
begin with a look at an inspiring community event hosted
by an organization working to uplift the Nicetown neighborhood. Today
we're spotlighting the Nicetown CDC give Back Festival and annual
(00:44):
community celebration that brings together families, local leaders, and organizations
for a weekend of music, resources and empowerment in the
heart of North Philadelphia. Joining us our Magda Rashid, COO
of Nicetown Community to Development Corporation, also with the corporation
President and CEO, Zachariah Abduura Rockman, and the production manager
(01:04):
for this event and host Tammy body. Want to thank
you all for joining us here today. I'll start with you, Majita.
Can you tell us about the history and mission of
Nice Town CDC and how to give back festival came
to life?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Well, the mission of the Nice Town CDC propably shared
that is that we've been working hard to improve the
quality of life the Nice Town and the surrounding communities.
And we've done that over the years with strategic planning,
a lot of community input. We say we are a
resident driven organization, So with the planning and inclusion of
(01:38):
the community, we embarked on our mission and we've grown
over the years to do supportive services, affordable housing development,
commercial quaritor revitalization, and we have a host of programs.
Particularly we have three programs now that address the gun
violence in the community.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So we do a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We have housing projects that are going on, affordable housing
projects that are going on right now that kind of
focused on the stabilizing the housing stock around a couple
of our developments. We are part of the Rebuilt initiative
in the city and we're the developer for two major
rebuild projects. One is in at Barrett Playground, which is
(02:18):
going to be Barrett Recreation Center and that's in Logan.
The other is in the Haddington area of Philadelphia and
West Philadelphia and that's the Shepherd Recreation Center. So a
lot of what we do is connected. Everything we do
is one thing connects to the other, and it's all
about trying to establish self reliance of communities and from
(02:40):
economic development. The history of the Giveback Festival is something
that's close to our hearts. It kind of came from
a well known rapper from Nicetown that went by the
name of Miss Jade at the time, Shavin Young. She
had mentioned to her dad that why can't we do
a celebration in our local park. We have two parks
(03:02):
in Nicetown and the one she was referencing was Stanton Park.
Once I heard about that, we connected with her and
she was very hot at the time and just came
and met with me in the middle of the night,
and she started calling all her friends, and of course
her friends at that time were Bbe Segull and the
(03:22):
whole State Property crew happen to be on a Rock
to Mike tour with Kanye at that time, so they
came to the give Back That was our first one
and they did it.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
They gave back Ye.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Since then, we've moved the festival to our commercial carter
to our other park in Nicetown Park to kind of
emphasize and celebrate what we do as far as commercial
corridor revitalization. We have several things going.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
On, Zechara. I wonder if you can talk about how
the festival reflects Nice Town CDC's broader mission of community development,
safety and neighborhood revitalization.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yes, thank you Lorane for having us. I just want
to dovetail on Megeta the festival. We look back, we
have a lot of history to take from as relates
to how festivals and power and engaged community with the
Family Unity Day that was hosted by WDAS and our
friends down there, and a Black Family Reunion that with
(04:21):
Barbiadaniel Cox.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Back in the day, right.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yeah, Jazz with.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Or We said on all those committees, I was on
the steering committee with ORC and so it was Megeta
and so we looked at how those events served us
engine drivers for the empowerment of local communities, and we
wanted to do the same for Nicetown. We on a
commercial quarter, we had space that was depressed and underutilized.
(04:52):
So we said, you know, moving from Stanton Park to
Nicetown Park, let's use this as a catalyst to do
improvement to the only nice Town Park, which we had
got a grant from ORG that helped us in our
initial days put right back into the park and do
some cleanups and so forth and so on. We sat
to ourselves, Well, let's get the community involved, and let's
(05:13):
utilize this as a stage to empower the whole a
commercial cord and thus form the community what we could
do as a result of working together and organizing and
improving the conditions and the quality of life in our
own community.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Well, you all have been doing such a wonderful job
hanging in there. So Tammy, let's move to you. You
are the production manager and host, and I think that
everyone is very anxious to hear what people can expect
when they come to the Nice Town give Back Festival.
Give us all the details and also the time, location
and all the good stuff. So tell us more.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
Well, we had free days. I'm going to say free
because we're going to start it off with a press
conference and a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, August seventh,
three hundred Germantown Avenue right at nice Town Park. The
entertainment and all the community act community activities will start
on Friday. We're starting Friday again forty three hundred Germantown
(06:12):
Avenue and our brand new Amphitheater stage area. We have
two stages this year, Lorraine, we have two, So we're
going to start on Friday. With the Tzar Memorial Scholarship
funds and I'm sure Zach and Mejia can talk a
little bit more about that, but we have scholarships for
giving out.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
To community students.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
We have a sponsor that's going to be doing that,
giving them actually book scholarships to ten local residents students
going on to college. So that's really really going to
be great for Friday. That's when we followed up with
some local community open mic singers. We like to make
sure the community gets a chance to get some exposure
on stage and get their family out, get the crowd out.
We're actually going to have line dances going on through
(06:51):
the country, so we're going to have a boots on
the ground instruction going on out there on Friday.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You had me at Hello on that one. Go ahead, continue.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
To have that. You know what I didn't mention we
have a drum line actually starting off. This is Art
Memorial Scholarship, so we do have a drum line. It's
coming out, bringing the students out this Friday. We have
some featured artists happening on that and that's the Amphitheater
stage that's in the park. While that's going on, we're
gonna be on Germanytown Avenue. On German Chown Avenue, we
have Ricky Duncan dance competition that's really really popular.
Speaker 6 (07:24):
This year.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Everyone's out, all the kids are out, so we have
a Ricky Duncan Dance competition followed by DJ Philly Slim's
Underground Railroad production. He's been doing this about three years now,
bringing community rappers, open word artists out, all clean, all fun,
just exciting activity for the youth on that Friday. We're
following this year, we're doing a teen summit this time
(07:45):
on Friday evening with some dynamic speakers. Following that back up,
DJ Philly Slims will come back with some of his
production and we'll have some more entertainment by local youth
of Philadelphia. Saturday, forty three hundred German Town Avenue, We're
gonna start with our Wolfburg Peace Walk, which happens in
Germantown and goes to the community. It's going to have
thinking of a dance, more of a drumline we have
(08:07):
for that one. We have entertainment on two stages again
Amputhur Stage. We're going to have two live bands. We're
going to have Groo Cittisen Richard Warrior, and we're going
to have on the main stage or I'm going to
get to Germantown stage. They're both main stages. This is
nice Town, so we have two stage. On the Germantown
stage we will have perfect combination a War tribute band
(08:28):
or for an and Fire tribute band and headline this
year will be the Chuck Brown Band out of DC.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You've got an amazing lineup and the best part about
it is that it's free and their resources for the
community and it is powered by such great individuals such
as yourselves and the volunteers that you bring to the
table to make this all happen. It's all about Nice
Town CDC Give Back Festival. It is a celebration that
brings together families, leaders, organizations for music, resources and empowerment
(08:58):
in the heart of North Philadelphiajita. If people want more information,
where do they go for all the details?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
So get more information, you can call our community center
that numbers two one five three two nine one eight
two four, or you can email us at info at
NICETOWNCDC dot org.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Fantastic. Well, we'll see you there on the eighth and
the ninth of August for a two day wonderful celebration,
an opportunity to get to know Nicetown and for those
who living in Nicetown to enjoy all the great resources
and the family fund that's going to be available on
those two days for this Nicetown CDC's Giveback Festival. I
want to thank you all for joining us here. Zachariah
(09:39):
Abduah Rochmann, President and CEO, Majita Rashid COO, both of
Nicetown Community Development Corporation. And you don't want to miss
the opportunity to see the fine host of this event,
Tammy Bony, production manager and host. She'll be out there
on stage introducing all this fabulous entertainment. Thank you all
for joining us here today and see you a nice town.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Thank you, Thank.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
You you're listening to Insight. It's the fifth anniversary of
a festival called hip Hop in the Park. Joining us
to tell us all about is Tam Arts. Tam Arts
is an artist and a community activist and he is
here to tell us all about it. So Tam Arts
tell us what is this event? Fifth anniversary for this festival,
(10:24):
what is it?
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Well, thank you so much, Loreene for having me. Yeah,
hip Hop in the Park is a celebration for all
the hip hop elements and culture and community. That's like
the biggest thing that I like to convey to people.
The reason behind the festival was to bring community together
and have that old school feeling of like the seventies
and eighties when people will go and gather at parks
(10:46):
and enjoy music together.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, when we talk about hip hop and the history
of hip hop, it has a very rich history and
cultural impact. When you're talking about say old school and
the origins of hip hop, I wonder if you can
talk a little bit about how it fits into culture,
whether it's Black culture, Latino culture, or just culture in general.
What is the importance of these hip hop elements? And
(11:09):
we're talking about the music, we're talking about the dance,
we're talking about the graffiti. How the Wallart tell us
all about that.
Speaker 6 (11:15):
So hip hop itself is the culture, right, and then
you have like these subcultures or elements that are part
of it, as you just mentioned B Boy in Breaking,
which is the dancing aspect, the graffiti aspect, the DJ
and the mcs. The importance of that is understanding community
and understanding the strengths that come when we unite, right,
So knowing that all these elements existed at one point
(11:37):
on their own, but coming together they you know, they
created this thing that we now call hip hop that
now essentially is the largest and most influential culture in
the world. Is the music itself could be heard in
all parts of the world as well as the dance
and graffiti is something that's all over the world as well.
It is very rich in the Black and Hispanic community,
(12:00):
being that in its inception, it was berthed out of
the struggles from these communities, in the Bronx specifically, So
when you think about the Bronx, you know, sixties and seventies,
the Bronx was literally burning, right, People were burning down buildings,
people you know, were doing fraud for tax reasons or
for insurance reasons. So I left a group of young
(12:24):
teenagers in despair to have to play and get creative
in the rubble of what the adults around them was
doing and out of that.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (12:35):
That's why I've always said that hip hop was born
out of poverty, but rich in the minds and in
the hearts.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And I feel like that's something that.
Speaker 6 (12:43):
Comes from you know, black and Hispanic community, specifically during
that time, the Puerto Rican community.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Well, let's talk about your history. Tell us more about
your connection with hip hop. You are an artist, tell
us more about what tam arts is all about.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
Yeah, so tam arts as an individual and as an artist,
I'm a hip hop ambassador. I am a muralist. I
like to say I'm kind of like a Swiss knife
of things. I do brand consulting for a lot of brands,
you know. I've done brand consulting for like Nike, Reebok,
the NFL, the Sixers, Phillies. So I've been able to
travel a lot and do a lot of things. I
(13:20):
travel a lot with Red Bull, doing workshops and teaching
hip hop one on one. As a muralist, I've traveled
the world painting and expressing myself through graffiti, street art,
and done brand acquisitions as well through my art, so yeah,
you know, and most importantly, I always like to say
that I'm a father and a husband first, so that
(13:42):
I feel like those things have strengthened me and has
also showed me how to be a better muralist and
a better consultant and things like that. Just you know,
being grounded at home has helped me be a better
person out in the world.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Yeah, well, I think what's been so fascinating because I
can't say I'm an expert at all, but I was
involved in the early days of the Anti Graffiti Network
and Tim Spencer back in the day and we're talking
about the eighties, and I saw how that organization was
able to leverage for so many wall artists an opportunity
to take their art beyond just the walls, but to
(14:18):
be able to make a living from it. And I
think you're just a fine example of how you've been
able to take your creative expression, which was very much
started in the street, but to expand it to the
point where you're making a living. You're you're very influential
in so many different ways, and so that has been
an extraordinary journey for a number, not all, but a
(14:38):
number of wall writers who so expressive. I mean, you know,
when you think about it, if you look beyond one's
judgment about a graffiti and waal art, you can see
some remarkable artistic expression.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Right. Yes, I agree, A completely agree. I feel like
art is definitely in the eye of the beholder. I
really do believe that as well. There is a different
when you could see somebody really truly pour their heart
into something that they're doing. Like you said, is whether
you are a huge fan of it or not, you
could definitely agree that somebody put their love into it
and it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Well, tell us specifically about the fifth anniversary of Hip
Hop in the Park. What's the date, the location and
the time and how can people find out?
Speaker 6 (15:21):
More So, as you mentioned, this is the fifth anniversary
hip Hop in the Park. The biggest thing I like
to share with everybody that it is free, and it
has been free since its inception, and that's a goal
to mind to continue to offer it for free, to
give people kind of like and understanding. The first year
we started and we had about roughly two hundred attendees
(15:42):
last and we did it at a small park in
North Philly. Years two till now we've been doing it
in the location at Egan's Oval, right in front of
the Art Museum, and last year we had over eleven
five hundred people in attendance throughout the day.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
So just the growth in itself has been incredible.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
I can't say that I've done this on my own,
you know, it's definitely it has been possible due to
partners and sponsors that I've had throughout the year. One
in particular, which is our presenting partner for the past
three years, has been Snipes. I've done a lot of
work with them throughout the years, and they see and
understand the mission of what I'm trying to do, and
(16:21):
you know, it's been through them that you know, We've
been able to continue to offer this festival for free
to the community. The festival again takes place Saturday, August ninth,
and it's at all day events. Starts at at noon
ends at nine thirty pm. Attendees could you know, come
and experience a multiple of things such as live art
throughout the day. We have artists coming from New York, Florida, Texas,
(16:44):
and Philly coming to Paint Live.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Will also have you know, slew of talent that'll be
there as well.
Speaker 6 (16:50):
We have world class DJs this year headlining such as
Rich Mendina and Cosmo Baker, Philly legends.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
That now travel the world and do some incredible you know.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
DJ and crowd maintenance you know, throughout the whole world
as well. As we have legendary Corig g from the
Juice Crew coming up as well, and then we have
a slew of local talent on the bill as well.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
We will also.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
Have a huge vendor market with about thirty to forty vendors,
predominantly black and brown vendors, small businesses and you know,
a slew of food trucks.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Sounds fantastic. So if people want more information, where did
they go?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
So for more information?
Speaker 6 (17:33):
Although it's free, in order for us to continue to
keep offering it for free, I can't share this enough.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I need people to RSVP.
Speaker 6 (17:41):
That's how we're able to share the data with our partners,
to let them know that they're basically their input and
their investment is making sense. You know for them is
to go to go is go o dot rabble r
A B B L E dot iolash hhiitp twenty five
(18:05):
and that is for the RSVP.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And I could send you that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
To make it even more easier, people can go to
my Instagram at Team Arts with a Z at the
end and the link is a mobio.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
So that's an easier way of getting it.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Fantastic because I already lost you after you've said io.
Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that's great, so go to your
Instagram and check out the link there. I want to
thank you so much for joining us. Kristen Tame Arts Rodriguez,
who is an artist, a producer and a historian of
hip hop talking about the fifth anniversary of the festival
(18:38):
hip Hop in the Park.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Today we're joined by doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director
of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana
Care and former President of the Society for Cardiovascular and
Giography and Interventions. That's a mouthful with a career spanning
many decades of innovation, research leadership in cardiology. Doctor Garrett
is a passionate advocate for prevention, education and equity in
(19:06):
cardiovascular care. He's lending his voice and expertise to support
the twenty twenty five Wilmington Heart Walk, happening Sunday, September
seventh at Tubman Garrett Rearfront Park. A beautiful park to
have such a wonderful walk, it's a powerful event advancing
the life saving mission of the American Heart Association. Well,
we'll begin doctor Garrett with this question. With your deep
(19:27):
background in interventional cardiology, why is the Wilmington Heart Walk
especially meaningful to you, both personally and professionally.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
Well, thanks, Ryan, it's really a privilege to spend time
with you. This event in Wilmington is important to me
personally because of all the cardiac problems that you can have,
of all the things that can go wrong with a
heart or a cardiovascular system. It remains true that in
America today, heart attacks, that is, blockages of the blood
(19:56):
vessels that provide nutrient to the heart muscle, continue to
be a lead problem and a leading cause of death
among Americans. Although the Heart Walk isn't focused solely on
that problem, I can say with certainty that the majority
of people that come out and walk are doing so
because they have had a personal experience with this kind
(20:16):
of heart problem. And I'm no exception. My mother died
of a sudden cardiac death while I was away, and
although I didn't go into medicine or cardiology because of
that event, that event underscored to me personally how important
it is that we pay attention to the things that
can keep our hearts healthy, with special emphasis right now
(20:36):
on those things that cause blockages of heart arteries and
lead to heart attacks and death.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
You mentioned your mom, and I'm very sorry for your loss,
and I think that's something that people don't know or
are not as aware of as perhaps he should be.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Heart disease is actually, I think the number one cause
of death for women. And that's something that we don't
tend to think of because we're always stuck with that
image of men clutching their arm or their chest and
a sort of the difficult thinking that men are more
likely or liable to have heart attacks than women. But
that's just not the case, and it also presents itself
differently in women than men.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
Right, That's absolutely right, and it remains a huge challenge.
You know, we've been talking about this issue of women
being under recognized as being at risk for a long
time now, but I feel that we just haven't gotten
the message through as effectively as we need. If you
were to stop any person on the street, man or
woman and ask what's the leading cause of death among men.
(21:29):
I think they would say probably heart disease. And if
you ask, well, what's the leading cause of death among women, well,
maybe breast cancer, maybe some I don't know, gynecologic problem. No,
it's heart disease. In the same things that cause heart
disease in men cause heart disease in women. So in
many ways it simplifies our work here. We just need
to get people aware of the fact that lack of exercise,
(21:52):
tobacco exposure, poor dietary choices, allowing medical conditions like hypertension
and diabetes to go unj is the leading causes of
the leading disease in America that causes death in both
men and in women.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Yeah, it's so important to raise awareness, especially for women
because oftentimes the symptoms can be very different for women
than for men. Now you've said that this walk is
more than just a community event. It is a movement
and what kind of impact can it make across Delaware
and beyond.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
Right, Well, let's not forget that we live in a very,
very complex community. We live in a complex healthcare ecosystem
that's tangled up more than ever in the way that
our political leaders behave. I started engaging in the American
Heart Association Heart Walk as a way of displaying publicly
to my community my personal commitment to leading change that
(22:47):
will empower and improve the health of community members. More
and more, though, I think of it now as a
public display that goes beyond just the community and makes
visible to our local leaders and through them, our state
and national leaders, the importance of providing support for the
work that needs to get done to keep Americans healthy.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
The American Heart Association is focused on building a nation
of life savers. What is CPR awareness and education? Why
is it such a critical part of this year's walk.
Speaker 7 (23:18):
Thanks so much for asking that question, Because the American
Heart Association has done so much over the years to
improve health, largely through funding research projects that helped us
understand what were the causes behind all these bad events
happening so that we could develop preventive therapies, medications, surgical techniques,
and the like. Now, of course, American Heart Association is
(23:39):
also very deeply involved in public education, and that starts
at the schools with training programs that orient young kids
and young adults to how their personal choices can impact
their cardiovascular health and risk, and recently that has grown
into a training program and an isition sponsored by the
(24:01):
American Heart Association to help folks know what to do
if they run across someone who has suddenly sustained a
cardiac arrest. Part of that is learning how to do
CPR bystander CPR, and there is a mouth free CPR
technique that can keep someone alive until medical personnel can arrive.
That's been enormously important in helping us save lives. And
(24:25):
then of course, learning how to use these automated external
defibrillators another mouthful. I know, I'm sorry, but these AED
devices are basically those shocking tools that can correct a
heart rhythm if it's gone out a whack, and it's
a life saving therapy that can be available to everyone
in the community.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
We were delighted at iHeart to host a couple of
years ago CPR training and it was really interesting because
I didn't realize how hard I had to go in
to do the thing properly. You really need to do
hands on. You can't really tell somebody how to do CPR.
You actually have to practice it right. You have to
get the feel for.
Speaker 7 (25:01):
It that's right. And that's why an agency like AHA
is such an important partner here. Just telling you how
to do it would be helpful. You then have an
understanding of what that involves. But as you've just said,
until you actually do it, you don't really have a
sense of just how do I do? I push hard?
Am I pushing too hard?
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Is it not hard enough?
Speaker 7 (25:17):
And make no mistake, a CPR that's not done correctly
and is ineffective doesn't work. It's not going to keep
that poor, unfortunate person going until help can arrive. So
the AHA has gone out with models that not only
allow you to put your hands on plastic human being
and practice this, but they also have tricks and techniques
to help you remember how hard to push you know,
(25:39):
what tempo do you use? How fast do you go?
Super super effective? And we're really lucky to have them
in the community doing this work.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, that's fantastic. Now, let's talk about disparities in CPR response,
especially for black and brown adults. How do events like
this help address those inequities?
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Right?
Speaker 7 (25:59):
You know, this is a we usually become a little
more complicated recently, but the fact remains that if you
look at communities rich in black and brown skinned people,
you will often find heightened rates of not just heart disease,
but those underpinnings of heart disease, those conditions, those chronic
(26:19):
problems like hypertension and diabetes that ultimately lead to strokes
and heart attacks. It's very important, then, if we're serious
about moving the needle on this and saving lives, that
we not just empower people to be effective bystanders and
not just create more effective tools for doctors and the
teams that work with them to care for people in
(26:40):
a crisis. We have to get upstream. We have to
help people understand the things that will contribute to their
heart disease and help them be informed in a manner
that leads to better choices regarding tobacco exposure, exercise, food choices,
management of their chronic conditions. And to say that that
that's not a problem among our black and brown community
(27:03):
members would be unfair and untrue. It's not a problem
that's unique to those individuals, but it is a problem
that impacts them to a greater degree than others. I
think it's fair and important that we walk toward that.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yes, health disparities, we need to close that gap. What
role does Christiana Care play in advancing heart health and
how are you collaborating with the American Heart Association.
Speaker 7 (27:24):
Well, first of all, I'm exceedingly proud to be a
member of the Christianic Care team. It's a wonderful, wonderful
organization that has, in my opinion, all the right ideas
about how we need to go forward and improve the
health and welfare of our community. Christiana Care selects each
year to partner with just a few agencies that are
(27:46):
related to community health and partner with them effectively, and
I'm very happy that the American Heart Association is one
of those trusted partner organizations for Christianic Care. That relationship,
which has existed for a very long time, now allows
Christianity Care and the American Heart Association to partner in
community education events, activities like the Heart Walk for example,
(28:09):
the Heart Gala, the Go Red for Women event, in
a host of things. Christianity Care supports those activities financially, yes,
but also by providing engagement between caregivers within the organization
like myself and that agency. For example, a young woman
who helps coordinate our acute care processes that is the
(28:30):
heart Attack Patience of Christianity Care, A woman named Jennifer
Oldham is an expert in training CPR, so she goes
out with the AGA teams with those plastic models to
help do that teaching that I spoke to a minute ago.
That's just one example of the kind of partnership that
we enjoy.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, that's wonderful. For those who are thinking about joining
this walk, what would you say to encourage them to
register walk and support this cause.
Speaker 7 (28:55):
Well, it's very easy to do. Go ahead and register
at the AHA website. That would be lovely, But golly,
you don't have to Just come down On September seventh,
sometime around eight eight thirty in the morning, sun's going
to be up, there's going to be coffee around, there's
usually music playing, lots of vendors stands with fresh fruits
and vegetables and the like, and a great crowd. There's
(29:18):
always a great crowd. And then right about nine point
thirty the alarm will sound and we'll all begin walking,
a lovely, lovely easy walk along the riverfront there in
the Wilmington community. And of course, you know this isn't
an Olympic competition. You know, you walk to your heart's content,
walk with the distance you like, and jog if you like.
(29:39):
We have people doing that. It's a great event to
do with your kids, with your dog, with your neighbor.
Just come on out and enjoy the day and show
your community that you do support the activities of the
American Heart Association in preserving the health and welfare of
our communities.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
Very important event again, it's the twenty twenty five Wilmington
Heart Walk Sunday, September seventh at the Tubman Garrett Riverfront
Park Park. A powerful event advancing the life saving mission
of the American Heart Association. The event opens up at
eight o'clock and the walk begins at nine point thirty.
For more information, you can go to heart dot org
slash Wilmington Walk. Doctor Kirk Noel Garrett, medical director of
(30:15):
the Center for Heart and Vascular Health at Christiana Care,
former President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions,
and I have to say, doctor Garrett, your bedside manner,
your calm voice. I would love to have you by
my bedside. You've got that great bedside manner and such
an important message to share with all of our listeners.
So thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 7 (30:37):
Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Lauren.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in Keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio Appy Word's Philadelphia Community Podcast.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard. I'm
Lorraine Ballard Morrel and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(31:00):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you
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