A 501c3 Certified Non-Profit Organization

February 2023 Newsletter

February is National Heart Month!

Exciting News For Advocates For Health

Advocates For Health is excited to announce that The City of Coral Springs, FL has announced the award to Advocates for Health for 30 Lifesaving Cardiac ReStart units at 10 of their city parks. Installations include 9 solar-powered units.  

Parent Heart Watch Conference in

Houston, Texas 2023

Joel Vogel had the opportunity to go to Houston, Texas on January 13-15, 2023 for the 18th annual National Parent Heart Watch conference. He learned an abundance of information and is eager to share it with everyone and help make changes to Sudden Cardiac Arrest survival.

Parent Heart Watch is the national voice protecting youth from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and preventable Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). Parent Heart Watch leads and empowers others by sharing information, educating, and advocating for change.

Adult, child, and infant manikins ready to be used in the CPR/AED training that Joel Vogel was involved with at the National Parent Heart Watch Conference.

Photo of new FDA-approved AED introduced by Avive for use in the United States.

Play for Patrick EKG testing done in

 January 2023

Meet the Advocates For Health Board

The Advocates For Health Executive Board is full of individuals who want to change the outcomes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. They all have a variety of expertise in different aspects of their lives that add value to our board. Here is our first set of Board members you will meet this month!

Joel Vogel

Position on board: Cheif Program Director

Joel serves on the Board of Advocates For Health because "I believe in the mission and am proud of what we are doing." -Joel

Joel's experience that adds value to the board of directors is that he survived a heart attack 18 years ago, which made him realize how precious life is. He was trained to be a volunteer visitor with the organization Mended Hearts working with and speaking with individuals who had a heart procedure. 

Joel enjoys many things in his free time including fishing weekly in the summer months, golfing on Wednesday afternoons, and spending time doing outside yard work.

Joel's Accomplishments/Awards:

Joel has been pleased to volunteer his time at Weekly CBMC Bible Study, Noon Optimist Club, Big Brothers - Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, Knights of Columbus #7057, Operation Round Up, Mended Hearts, St. Joseph Rod & Gun Club, and his favorite Advocates for Health. Saint Cloud Technical College honored Joel with a “Distinguished Alumni Award”, and Big Brothers Big Sisters honored Joel as Big Brother of the year for the state of Minnesota. 

Joel & his wife Laurie have been married for 43 years. Together they have a son Joshua and a daughter Kayla. Joel is so proud of both of his children and will share life updates about them with anyone who will listen. Joel loves spending time with his children and grandkids taking them fishing, playing cards, snow tubing in the winter, playing any type of ball, and his favorite is making and frosting Christmas cookies.

Joel@advocates4health.org

Kaitlyn Gilk

 Position on board: Executive Assistant to the Founder, Cheif Administration Officer, and Cheif Program Director

Kaitlyn serves on the Board of Advocates For Health because “I love being a part of something bigger and hearing the stories of those whose lives Sudden Cardiac Arrest has impacted and what we can do as a nonprofit to support them.” -Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn's experience that adds to the board is in

2019 at 16 years old Kaitlyn began her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award you can receive in Girl Scouts. She raised over $22,000 to place Outdoor AED Smart Monitored Cabinets in her hometown of Paynesville. She also educated 150+ people in CPR and AED training. Kaitlyn also distributed educational materials to those in her middle school as a part of her project. Since completing her Gold Award in 2020 Kaitlyn has been working for Advocates For Health in various roles to promote the use of AEDs and CPR. Now at 19 years old Kaitlyn continues to learn more about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and the effects of AEDs. Kaitlyn uses her behind-the-scenes knowledge of the day-to-day of Advocates For Health as well as her knowledge in SCA and AEDs to give input on board decisions.

In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys weightlifting at the gym. Spending time with her boyfriend, friends, and family. She enjoys paddle boarding, hanging out on the boat, swimming, going to the family cabin, having bonfires, and playing volleyball. 

Kaitlyn's Accomplishments/Awards:

Girl Scout Bronze Award, Girl Scout Silver Award, Girl Scout Gold Award, Paynesville Lions Service Award, St. Cloud Morning Optimist Youth Appreciation Award, House Resolution presented by State Representative Lisa Demuth, Paynesville Area Schools Student of Excellence Award, Salute to Excellence/Outstanding Young Person Award presented by the Paynesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Citizen CPR Foundation 40 under 40 Award.

Kaitlyn graduated high school in 2022 and is now pursuing a degree in Business Administration-Marketing Professional Sales with a minor in Economics at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls. Kaitlyn hopes to graduate in December 2024. She is graduating at an accelerated pace since she took college classes in high school. She is excited to see what her future holds in her career in Business, Sales, and Marketing. 

Kaitlyn@advocates4health.org

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