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| Last updated on October 19, 2007 |
The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
The mission statement was affirmed by the Delegate Assembly at its meetings of June 1993, June 1996 and June 1999. The mission statement undergoes a formal review process every third year.
Description:
The American Heart Association is divided physically into the National Center (located in Dallas, Texas) and 12 affiliate offices that cover the United States and Puerto Rico. Our operations are divided into seven main areas that are listed below. Millions of volunteers and donors support our efforts every year.
History:
Since 1949, the American Heart Association has grown rapidly in size, financial resources, involvement with medical and non-medical volunteers, and influence -- both nationally and internationally. The AHA moved the National Center from New York City to Dallas in 1975 to better serve affiliates and local divisions nationwide. The volunteer-led affiliates and their divisions form a national network of local AHA organizations involved in providing research, education, and community programs and in raising money to support the association's work. The network continues to gain strength as it expands at the grass-roots level.
The AHA completed significant internal changes between 1980 and 1986, allowing it to reach the public with a louder, clearer voice. During the next eight years, the association became a much more visible champion of public health. The AHA also developed guidelines for the nation's healthcare system and supported the federal government's attempt to improve access to healthcare.
At the same time, the AHA continued to strengthen its internal programs and its internal management. The association revised its mission statement and focused its planning in three areas: cardiovascular science, cardiovascular education and community programs, and fund raising efforts. Achievements included stricter research standards, new healthcare site modules, and development of several new cookbooks. Large gifts allowed the AHA to support new research projects, move all scientific staff into one building, and sponsor creative professional education programs. Efforts to include more women and minorities in the leadership ranks began to pay off by the late 1980s, resulting in more efforts to understand the effects of heart disease and stroke on women and minorities.
The mid-1990s were a time of great change in the American Heart Association. The association's scientific findings began to move more quickly from laboratories and clinics to physician's offices and American households. The AHA took positions on important issues and made clear, simple statements about controlling risk factors. Volunteers and staff agreed on a strategy for improving affiliate research programs, and the national organization created new divisions dealing with stroke and emergency cardiac care. To reduce costs and increase international circulation, the association outsourced the publication of its scientific journals and began publishing them online.
Despite strong opposition from the tobacco industry, the American Heart Association continued to be an advocate for the American public, especially children.
Finally, and most profoundly, AHA volunteers and staff began transforming the organization into an enterprise that could be vibrant and relevant in the 21st century. The change was deeper than anything since 1948, when the AHA transformed itself from a scientific society into a voluntary health agency. The first step was in identifying the organization's strategic driving force in March 1995: Providing credible heart disease and stroke information for effective prevention and treatment.
Agreement on the driving force made it clear that individual Americans, not the AHA's affiliates, were the National Center's primary audience. The new driving force altered the whole organization, which can be seen in the decision to become a single corporation in June 1997. This action reinforced the spirit of cooperation that people brought to the effort.
Six cardiologists formed the American Heart Association in 1924. Their goal was to improve public and medical awareness during a time of "almost unbelievable ignorance about heart disease," said Dr. Paul Dudley White, one of the founders.
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Contact person: Stacy Cossio, Office Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (719) 635-3606
Address:
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415 North Tejon Street, Suite 201
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.americanheart.org
Directions:
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From I-25 take Bijou exit. Turn Left on Cascade Ave. Turn Right on Boulder. Turn Left on Tejon Street. End at 415 North Tejon. |
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