Waco to see red for heart health

By Rae Jefferson
Staff Writer

In honor of the 10th annual National Wear Red Day, Wacoans can expect to see the town painted red — and Baylor is no exception.

Pat Neff Hall will be illuminated red from 6 p.m. to midnight this evening in honor of Go Red for Women’s National Wear Red Day, an effort that focuses on raising awareness of women’s heart disease prevention.

Rosalyn Mandola, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, said heart disease is often “a silent killer” for women.

“It’s the number one killer of women, even more than all forms of cancer combined,” she said. “The association’s goal is to reduce heart disease by 20 percent across all demographic groups — all races, genders and ages.”

According to a Baylor press release, Waco and McLennan County have both offered official proclamations of today as National Red Day. Various locations around the city have found different means of honoring the color-specific day, such as encouraging employees to wear red for work or changing decorations in and around the business place to include red.

Businesses and locations joining Baylor’s Pat Neff in donning red for the effort include the Dr Pepper Museum, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, the Waco and McLennan County court houses, Providence Healthcare Network and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.

Jennifer Fischer, a manager at the Dr Pepper Museum, said the museum would be externally illuminated with red lights, employees could wear red for the day and certain red-colored items in the gift shop would be discounted.

“I think this is wonderful,” Fischer said. “We need to come together as a city for more stuff like this.”

Mandola said the association is “excited” by the city’s response to National Wear Red Day and the impact it will have on the community’s awareness of women’s heart disease issues.

“Everyone really stepped up this year,” she said. “It’s great to see the community come together to get the word out.”