Live to the Beat. Powered by Wellstar. is an initiative of the Wellstar Center for Health Equity and Wellstar Center for Cardiovascular Care, in collaboration with the American Heart Association, the CDC Foundation and Million Hearts. Through the program, participants will meet monthly with a Wellstar Community Health community health worker (CHW) to have their blood pressure checked and discuss ways to keep their heart healthy, such as proper nutrition, exercise and caring for mental health.

Funding has been provided by the Wellstar Foundation to support a partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health Chronic Disease Prevention Section for a CHW, who is trained using a Morehouse School of Medicine education curriculum.

Participants for the program have been identified through the Wellstar Congregational Health Network, which partners with local faith communities to connect congregants with health resources. Live to the Beat. Powered by Wellstar. will launch in May with 50 congregants from First Baptist Church East Point and Mount Olive Seventh Day Adventist Church, also in East Point. Participants will receive blood pressure cuffs and other tools for promoting health and wellbeing.

The program is one of several Wellstar community initiatives to address social determinants of health, or the non-medical factors that can affect someone’s well-being, such as access to nutritious foods, housing and education.

“If we want to reduce poor health outcomes and reduce heart attacks and stroke in our community, we have to also look at all those other factors at play,” said Wellstar Assistant Vice President for Community Health and Wellstar Center for Health Equity Elise Lockamy-Kassim. “If an individual does not have access to food and we expect them to maintain good heart health, what could happen is they have to resort to having limited nutrition. They may choose high calorie foods just to feel full, not necessarily nutritious foods. Not having food also contributes to stress, which we know contributes to weakening your body.”

The Wellstar Find Help tool connects community members to assistance for housing, transportation, food and other resources.

Learn more about the Wellstar Center for Health Equity. To learn more about the national Live to the Beat campaign, visit Live to Beat | Million Hearts.