FEBRUARY 2026
Show your heart some love
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February is all about hearts and love, and not just the candy kind. Your heart needs to stay strong and healthy throughout your life and there’s a lot you can do to help make sure that happens. Mount Carmel’s Regional Director for Heart and Vascular Services, Kristen Parker, MSN, RN, has some great, simple tips for heart health.
“Prevention is key. Make sure you are paying attention to how you feel. Understand your blood pressure and do everything you can to keep it within a healthy range. Move your body every day and do not smoke or vape,” says Kristen. “We’re all so busy; sometimes it gets really hard to prioritize your health. It’s very important to have a primary care physician. If you notice something feels ‘off’ they can help you get connected to a specialist to help.”
Mount Carmel offers the full range of heart care, including cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists and electrophysiologists. In addition, the health system has a heart failure program, Women’s Heart Program and a walk-in clinic for non-emergency visits. “Of course, if you have gripping chest pains, you need to go to the Emergency Department,” says Kristen.
While there are some genetic risk factors you can’t control, keeping a healthy weight and staying hydrated, in addition to the advice above, can help. To learn more about your risk for heart disease, take our Heart Health Risk Assessment.
Mission in action: New Community Impact Report released
Our Community Health & Well-Being teams bring care to where it is most needed by people least able to access it. In the most recent fiscal year, more than 6,000 underinsured or uninsured individuals received free care through our Street Medicine Program. Another 98,000 people received social needs screening, to help them address housing, food security, safety, education, language and financial barriers to health and well-being.
“Meeting the needs of our patients, especially the most vulnerable is what we do best at Mount Carmel,” says Candice Coleman, manager, Community Benefit. “Mount Carmel is addressing all five categories of need identified in the most recent Franklin County Community Health Needs Assessment.”
That list includes:
- Social Drivers of Health (with a focus on housing)
- Mental Health
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Maternal and Infant Health
- Violence and Injury-Related Deaths
In total, Mount Carmel provided $282.5 million in community impact in fiscal year 2025. You can learn more about this important work in the new Community Impact Report.
Meet Senior Development Officer Deborah Carvalho
“What I enjoy most about my role with the Mount Carmel Foundation is being the bridge between compassion and capacity.”
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“I am energized by translating Mount Carmel’s mission into clear, compelling strategies that inspire action — especially within Community Health & Well-Being initiatives like Street Medicine, maternal health, hospice, peer support, and workforce development. There is something profoundly meaningful about connecting a donor or corporate partner to a tangible outcome: a safe sleep environment for a baby, access to healthy food for a family, a nurse educated through scholarship, or care delivered directly to someone experiencing homelessness. I also genuinely love the strategy behind the work.”
“I enjoy building thoughtful engagement plans, and I love execution: keeping timelines on track, coordinating across teams, ensuring materials are polished and leadership-ready and anticipating needs. There’s deep satisfaction in seeing a complex, multi-workstream initiative like the Colleague Giving Campaign come together seamlessly because the planning was intentional. And yes — I love closing a gift. Not just for the revenue, but because it represents trust, shared belief and commitment to transforming healthcare in our community.”
“I measure success across multiple dimensions — because revenue alone doesn’t tell the full story. Are we building sustainable, multi-year corporate partnerships? Are we moving from transactional sponsorships to transformational partnerships? Are we positioning Community Health & Well-Being as mission-critical? Are donors clearly understanding outcomes, not just activities? Are we telling stories that move people? Are we elevating Mount Carmel’s leadership in addressing health equity and social drivers of health? For me, true success is when revenue, relationships, readiness and reputation all grow together.”