Saint Mary’s Represented at “Ya Gotta Have Heart” Presentation in Wolcott
March 13, 2025Categories: Events
Ken Duren of Wolcott was so impressed with the care he received at the Saint Mary’s Hospital Cath Lab in 2024, he couldn’t keep it to himself. After several months of planning and collaboration with Saint Mary’s colleagues, Ken hosted an informational and educational event at the Wolcott Congregational Church titled, “Ya Gotta Have Heart.”
Pictured left to right: Marissa LaPorta, Dr. Ul Haq, Ken Duren, Christine Schwartz and Michele Christensen at “Ya Gotta Have Heart.”
On Friday, February 28, closing out National Heart Month, over 40 people attended the dinner and presentation featuring Trinity Health Of New England interventional cardiologist Faheem Ul Haq, M.D., MPH, and Cath Lab technicians, Michele Christensen, Marissa LaPorta and Christine Schwartz.
After the dinner portion of the event, the Saint Mary’s team presented a slide show and provided a question-and-answer session. Attendees of the event were incredibly engaged asking many questions. According to Ken, the event was a huge success. “I received so many compliments about the Saint Mary’s team, how attentive they were and how well they answered the questions.”
Late last year, Ken visited Saint Mary’s Cath Lab for testing at the recommendation of his primary care physician and cardiologist. What began as a stressful experience turned into a positive and educational encounter. Ken received good news about his heart and a mountain of information about heart health.
“I learned so much and was so impressed, and I thought that this was such important information. I had an idea about putting together a dinner and having a speaker talk about heart health. The rest is history,” said Ken. “I will say, I’ve been nothing short of impressed with the people at Saint Mary’s. Nothing but nice people.”
Ken’s goal was to have people walk away from the presentation saying, “Wow! I didn’t know that.”