PSU Nursing Department joins in Wear Red Day

It’s not unusual to see students, faculty and staff at Pittsburg State University wearing red, especially on Fridays when they show their Pitt State pride. The students and faculty in PSU’s Department of Nursing will be decked in red tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 2), but for a different reason. This year, as in years past, the department is participating in National Wear Red Day as a way of showing support for the fight against heart disease in women.

“For a long time, heart disease was thought of as something that affected mostly men,” said Mary Carol Pomatto, chairperson of the PSU Department of Nursing. “Research shows, however, that more women die of heart disease each year than the next five leading causes of death combined. Many of these deaths are preventable. By wearing red, we hope to join in the national effort to raise awareness about heart disease in women and encourage those lifestyle changes that will help women live longer, healthier lives.”

In a letter to all Kansas state employees, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has encouraged all of them to wear red on Friday. She encouraged men to participate, as well.

“While this observance is a call for women, I am also asking male employees to be involved as a showing of support for the women in your lives,” the governor wrote.

For more information about heart disease and National Wear Red Day, visit the American Heart Association Web site at www.americanheart.org or the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth.

---Pitt State---