February was American Heart Month which means that the Cardiovascular and Diabetes Coalition (CADI) was in full swing! CADI, All IN for Health and CTSI kicked off the month by partnering with Martin University National Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion to host their Public Health Summit Series on heart disease. This in-person event was attended by community members on the Martin University campus and had the largest turnout for the Series to date. The audience heard about the community engagement perspective from our team and Calvin Sanders of iHEART, the physician perspective from Dr. Onyedika Ilonze, and the patient perspective from Karl Karch, Virgil Giles and Kristina Hargrove in a panel moderated by Kelly Freeman.  

The second Annual CADI Summit, Health Literacy & Trauma-Informed Care: The Heart of the Matter, took place on February 22 and was jam-packed with information for everyone. Laura Heinrich of Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) shared the state of cardiovascular disease and diabetes across Indiana, Jennifer Conner of the Marion County Health Department educated and provided tools around improving health literacy, and Brent Anderson of IDOH rounded out the day with an informative and emotional session on trauma-informed care. If you missed it or want to revisit any of these impactful sessions, you can access the recording here! 

Finally, CADI was busy in the Near Southeast Side of Marion County holding community conversations with community members and organizations. We talked about successes, challenges, hopes and dreams around improving health. Now the group will continue to meet and decide on how to spend $10,000 in funding to directly impact cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the community. You can find the visual summary of the conversations and stay up to date on the project here.