Ricks
Michael Ricks, Providence LA Coastal Service Area Chief Executive, is serving as the chairperson of the 2024 and 2025 Greater Los Angeles Heart and Stroke Ball. This year, the annual gala will be celebrating the American Heart Association’s 100 years of lifesaving work with a vision for advancing health and hope for everyone, everywhere.
With his nearly three decades of healthcare leadership experience, Ricks has seen the devastation of heart disease and its impact on families. “I’m inspired by organizations like the American Heart Association that pour their heart and soul into preventing the #1 killer in the world. Continuing to support the AHA and its research will only get us closer to discovering cures for cardiac diseases.”
About every 34 seconds, someone in the U.S. dies of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is the nation’s No.1 killer, accounting for more than 931,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2021. Black adults are 32% more likely to die of CVD due to social factors beyond their control. People in some under-resourced ZIP codes also have shorter life expectancies than their neighbors just a few miles away.
“As chairperson for the 2024 and 2025 Heart and Stroke Ball, I hope we will have record-breaking fundraising years so we can advance cardiovascular research and specifically, research that helps close the health disparity that continues to exist in our Black and brown communities,” Ricks said.
The 2024 Greater Los Angeles Heart and Stroke Ball will be held on April 20, 2024 at the Beverly Wilshire.
heart.org/HeartofLA
