UCI Health surpasses fundraising goal for OC Heart & Stroke Walk

Funds go toward research, advocacy, training and health promotion

Two dozen teams and more than 250 co-workers from throughout UCI Health participated in the walk. Credit: JSutton Photo.

Orange, Calif. — UCI Health participated in the 2024 Orange County Heart & Stroke Walk and raised nearly $24,000 in support of heart and stroke awareness.

The academic health system’s original fundraising target was $20,000.

“The Heart and Stroke Walks are all about promoting the health and well-being of our community and supporting the American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission. Heart health is important for everyone ― it’s a common cause we can come together for,” says UCI Health cardiologist Dr. Pranav Patel, the American Heart Association Orange County and Inland Empire Board president.

Two dozen teams and more than 250 co-workers from throughout UCI Health participated in the walk. The money raised will fund research, advocacy, training and health promotion to fight the No. 1 and No. 5 leading causes of death in the United States, respectively: heart disease and stroke.

About UCI Health Cardiology Services

UCI Health cardiologists and stroke specialists are leaders in the treatment and prevention of heart disease and stroke. The team has a long history of excellence and innovation for which it has been recognized consistently.

UCI Health is home to the first heart failure program to earn the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission in Southern California. It is also the first program in Orange County to offer implantation of the left ventricular assistive device (LVAD) and CardioMEMS, a heart failure monitoring system. It is also the first program in the county to treat an adult using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), in October 2019.

The UCI Health Comprehensive Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center is the first in Orange County to be Certified by The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center. It is equipped to provide rapid, quality treatment for patient with acute stroke and cerebrovascular diseases 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The AHA has also recognized UCI Medical Center for its commitment to providing high-quality, evidence-based care for stroke and heart failure that reduces the chance of death or disability.

The Get With the Guidelines ― Stroke award and the Get With the Guidelines — Heart Failure award affirm the commitment to following nationally recognized guidelines that result in more lives saved, reduced disability and less time between hospital arrival and treatment.

About UCI Health

UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, and the only academic health system based in Orange County. UCI Health is comprised of its main campus, UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in in Orange, Calif., four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 23 consecutive years, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.