Coordinated Health -- Greater Lehigh Valley's Premier Sports Medicine Provider -- Partners With Simon's Fund To Offer Free Youth Heart Screenings Tomorrow

BETHLEHEM, Pa., Aug. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon's Fund, a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness about the conditions that lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death in children and student athletes, is holding a free heart screening tomorrow in partnership with specialized hospital network Coordinated Health. The screenings, to be provided at Coordinated Health's Bethlehem hospital at 2300 Highland Avenue, are expected to hit a major milestone for Simon's Fund: 10,000 kids screened since the fund's inception in 2005.

"We feel that this is an important partnership to provide our student athletes with a comprehensive screening program," said Jennifer Roeder, Coordinated Health's vice president of clinical operations. "If there is one student that can be saved by conducting these screenings the event is worthwhile."

Coordinated Health provides sports medicine services to 16 high schools, six middle schools and three universities in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey and is committed to the students' healthy participation in athletics. 

Students aged 12-19 will be screened during the Coordinated Health facility. At the screenings, participants will receive a physical exam, a thorough medical history review and an ECG exam.  

"Eight years ago, we started providing free heart screenings to students," said Darren Sudman, co-founder and the executive director of Simon's Fund.  "We never imagined that we'd reach so many students and change so many lives."

Screening groups have found that one out of every 100 children checked has a heart condition. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading killer of student athletes and cardiac arrest is the leading killer of adults in the United States. As such, Simon's Fund is committed to screening for abnormalities and raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in children throughout the country.

About Simon's Fund

Simon's Fund is dedicated to raising awareness about the conditions that lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death in children. It was instrumental in the passage of the first legislation in the country to protect student athletes from sudden cardiac arrest – the Pennsylvania's Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act. Five other states have passed the law and several others have introduced it.  Simon's Fund has screened provided free heart screenings to 10,000 students.  For more information, visit www.simonsfund.org.

About Coordinated Health

Coordinated Health is a Pennsylvania-based, privately held, specialized hospital network that delivers simple, accessible, affordable and consistently effective value-based healthcare. The Coordinated Health network focuses on Orthopedics, Joint Replacement, Sports Medicine, Primary Care and Women's Health, and also offers a wide range of other services across 17 locations in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.

Coordinated Health is the only hospital in the Lehigh Valley to earn the Top Performer rating from The Joint Commission three years in a row and has repeatedly earned top patient satisfaction scores from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Contact: Kevin O'Keefe, [email protected]

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SOURCE Coordinated Health