Living Healthy Partners and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith Launch National Campaign to Combat Minority Health Disparities at WSSU  Nancy Young / Chris

DeMaurice Smith, the recently elected executive director of the National Football League Players Association, will join Dr. Archie Roberts for an official kick-off of the “Rams Have Heart” project at Winston-Salem State University. Roberts, a former NFL player and retired cardiac surgeon, is the founder of the Living Healthy Partners non-profit organization that is working with WSSU’s School of Health Sciences to develop an on-going program at the university.

The Living Healthy Partners was initiated three years ago by the NFL Players Association, Living Heart Foundation and the medical schools at Morehouse College and Howard University. The goal of the program is to provide health assistance for the underserved in communities to aid in eliminating minority health disparities. Working with its regional medical partner, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and the School of Health Sciences, the Living Healthy Partners provided free cardiovascular screenings for 100 WSSU students and 100 members of the community this week.
The longer-term goal of “Rams Have Heart” and the Living Healthy Partners is to train student health coaches at WSSU. These coaches will work under the supervision of the faculty members and area medical professionals to lead a community-wide effort to mentor fellow students and to reach into the community to improve healthy lifestyle habits.