The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association announced CHE Trinity Health Inc. president emeritus Judith Persichilli and St. Francis Medical Center interim president and CEO Christy Stephenson will serve as co-chairs of the Greater Mercer Heart Walk.
Heart Walk is AHA’s premiere event for raising funds to save lives from heart disease and stroke. Held in more than 400 communities throughout the country, the Heart Walk is designed to promote physical activity and heart-healthy living through an environment that’s fun and rewarding for the entire family.
As co-chairs, Persichilli and Stephenson will encourage local businesses, employees and residents from the Mercer County area to get involved to help raise funds while taking action to reduce their personal risk for cardiovascular disease.
According to AHA, more than 83.6 million Americans are living with some form of cardiovascular disease and one person dies from these diseases once every 40 seconds.
“As health care executives, we see too many of our friends, family and neighbors suffering from cardiovascular diseases,” Stephenson said in a statement. “But research suggests that nearly 80percent of cardiac events may be prevented if certain risk factors are under control such as high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity.”
Persichilli and Stephenson will manage a volunteer executive leadership team charged with recruiting more than 4,000 walkers and raising $450,000 to support the heart and stroke association’s research and education programs.
Persichilli serves as president emeritus of CHE Trinity Health Inc. in Newtown Square, Pa. Prior to her current position and the consolidation of Catholic Health East and Trinity Health, Persichilli held a variety of positions of the Mid-Atlantic Division since 2003. Before joining the CHE’s System Office, she served for eight years as the CEO of St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton.
Stephenson serves as interim president and CEO of St. Francis Medical Center. In 2010, Christy joined St. Francis Medical Center as executive vice president, strategic and clinical transformation. Before joining St. Francis, Stephenson served as president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Healthcare Corporation at Hamilton for nearly a decade.
Greater Mercer Heart Walk is scheduled for Sept. 7 at the Mercer County Park Marina in West Windsor.
More information is online at mercercountyheartwalk.org.
