An ounce of prevention, as the saying goes, is worth a pound of cure.

As we observe American Heart Month this month, it’s a great time to talk with our family and friends about heart health. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women; in fact, it takes the lives of more women than all forms of cancer combined. Heart disease, of course, does not discriminate. Men are just as susceptible to heart disease.

During American Heart Month, you may see or read about “Going Red.” This acronym helps us think about heart health in a more meaningful way. According to the American Heart Association, Go Red means:

G: Get you numbers

• Ask your doctor to check your blood pressure and cholesterol.

O: Own your lifestyle

• Stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, and eat healthy.

R: Realize your risk

• We think it won’t happen to us, but heart disease kills one in three women.

E: Educate

• Teach your family about making healthy food choices.

D: Don’t be silent

• Tell everyone you know about the risks of heart disease.

Following these simple but important recommendations can be lifesaving to you or someone you love. Check out Heart.org for more information.

Touring the new Spectrum Health Lakeland Pavilion

Speaking of health care, I recently had the opportunity to join with Spectrum Health Lakeland President and Corporate Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Loren Hamel, M.D. and other executives from the hospital for a tour of the facility’s new pavilion.

It was great to meet with them to tour the new pavilion and discuss all of the exciting, future-thinking innovations that it will bring to help Spectrum-Lakeland advance its leading caregiving efforts here in Southwest Michigan.

If you haven’t heard, the new pavilion, which is set to open later this year, will bring new, high-tech advancements in a modern setting to improve patient care and comfort. The $160 million pavilion project has been three years in the making and will feature new areas of care, including pulmonology, a wound center, a short stay unit and surgery preplanning in addition to its already stellar lineup of offered services.

These modernizations are also designed to help recruit and attract a new generation of talented physicians and surgeons, which is important to the long-term success of the hospital but also to the health and well-being of the region’s residents.

We are living in an exciting time of medical research and development, and the new Spectrum Health Lakeland Pavilion is going to play an important role in bringing those lifesaving advancements to Southwest Michigan.