Start Your Engines for Henry Ford Health System's Third Annual "Get Your Heart Racing" Event

DETROIT, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

• Henry Ford Health System and Ford Motor Company team up to deliver a car enthusiast dream-come-true event September 13 – 14, 2013
• Start with an exquisite Friday evening event at Eastern Market's recently revamped Shed 3 before the excitement shifts to the Ford proving grounds for heart pounding driving activities and exhibitions
• Event participants will witness the reveal of the latest Ford one-of-one vehicle, to be sold at a nationally renown car auction in 2014
• The event benefits the life saving work of the Edith and Benson Ford Heart & Vascular Institute at Henry Ford Hospital

Henry Ford Health System's third annual "Get Your Heart Racing" event is an unusually appropriate marriage for the health system and for event sponsor, Ford Motor Company.  The direct beneficiary of the program, which features a rare opportunity to put the latest Ford vehicles to the test on the track at Ford's closed-to-the-public Dearborn Proving Grounds, is the Edith and Benson Ford Heart & Vascular Institute (HVI) at Henry Ford Hospital.  And cars are all about heart.

"The engine is the heart of a vehicle.  The pistons are its coronary arteries.  The electrical impulses get it started and the muscle, like the frame of a car, holds the body in place and enables it all to work together," said W. Douglas Weaver, M.D., System medical director of Heart and Vascular Services.  "Just like the work we do at the Heart & Vascular Institute, cars are all about heart."

This year's "Get Your Heart Racing" program will be a two day event starting with cocktails and dinner at the newly updated Shed 3 in Eastern Market on Friday, September 13, and following up with the on-track driving experience at the Ford Proving Grounds the next day.  As in past years, Ford Motor Company will design and create a special one-of-a-kind vehicle to be announced at a later date.  The car will be unveiled at the "Get Your Heart Racing" dinner and will be auctioned at a nationally televised auction in early 2014 with all proceeds going to the support the work of the Heart & Vascular Institute.

Heart & Vascular Institute

The Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute has a long history of providing high-quality heart and vascular care in Michigan.  Henry Ford is building on this tradition by investing in innovative and more effective treatments and technology to fight heart and vascular disease. 

"Proceeds from 'Get Your Heart Racing' will be used to further our efforts in developing newer, less-invasive treatments and to enhance its high-quality services for patients with heart conditions," said Dr. Weaver.

"Get Your Heart Racing" Event

"Get Your Heart Racing" leverages the longstanding partnership between Henry Ford Health System and Ford Motor Company.  The Heart & Vascular Institute was named for Edith and Benson Ford when their daughter and her husband, Lynn and Paul Alandt, joined their parents and grandparents as major donors to the hospital's work.  The Alandts, along with Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development at Ford, serve as the Co-Chairs for this year's "Get Your Heart Racing" event.

"Heart disease runs in my family and the treatment and management of cardiovascular disease is an issue Paul and I have always been interested in," says Lynn Alandt. "'Get Your Heart Racing' is an incredibly successful collaboration between Ford Motor Company and the Edith & Benson Ford Heart & Vascular Institute.  We are able to blend two of our passions and impact the community in a positive way."

The Friday, September 13 event at Eastern Market's Shed 3 includes sumptuous food and drink, live entertainment, and live and silent auctions featuring first-class experiences and unique treasures.  Guests will also witness the world-wide reveal of the latest Ford one-of-one vehicle.

On Saturday, September 14, the event becomes an auto-enthusiast's nirvana with an exclusive opportunity to experience Dearborn's renown test track and proving grounds with hot laps, drag races, wet pad tests, coned driving challenges and off-road experiences.    

Tickets for both the dinner and full day's driving events are $1,000 each or $1,750 for a two person team.  Tickets for the Friday evening gala only are $250. A portion of the ticket purchase is tax deductible.

For more information, please visit www.GetYourHeartRacing.org or call Kim Streich at 734-246-9639.

SOURCE Henry Ford Health System