Mercy Ladies Night highlights heart health, human trafficking awareness

Mercy held Ladies Night at the Spiva Center of the Arts Tuesday night to raise awareness for heart disease awareness month, which is the month of February. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women. Nora Cannon is the executive director of cardiovascular services and she says its important for women to have a heart-healthy education, the importance of diet and exercise, and what kind of screening services are available to them. Cannon says women aged 45 and older should consider heart screenings especially if you have a history of heart disease in your family.

All of the proceeds from the event went to the Rapha House, which is a local non-profit that helps survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Stephanie Freed is the executive director of the organization and tells Newstalk KZRG that these problems don’t only exist in the big cities. “Trafficking and sexual exploitation happens everywhere. It’s in every town. It’s in every community. It’s happening up and down our interstates. It’s definitely happening in our backyard and that’s why we need to know how we can combat it.”

“Anytime we have the opportunity to raise awareness in the local community it means a lot to us. And to be able to partner with Mercy and with Spiva, it’s really cool. It’s an amazing thing to bring women in and they have the heart to serve these women who are trapped in these exploitative lifestyles, that’s a really neat thing to see.”