Brain Aneurysm Awareness Is Focus of Rutgers/RWJ 5K Run and 1.5 Mile Walk
Book Giveaway & Signing by Amelia Bedelia Author Herman Parish
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Brain aneurysms are life threatening, with almost 500,000 deaths worldwide each year, but accurate early diagnosis is critical to increase the likelihood of a healthy and successful recovery. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) are taking a stand against this illness and will host a 5K run and 1.5-mile walk on Saturday, September 20, to help raise awareness, educate patients, and promote research for brain aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
The inaugural event is sponsored by the New Jersey Brain Aneurysm and AVM Support Group and will be held at Buccleuch Park, located at 321 Easton Avenue in New Brunswick. Registration for the run/walk begins at 7 a.m., with an 8 a.m. start time for the 5K run and a 9 a.m. start time for the walk.
In addition to the run and walk, the celebrated author of the best-selling children’s book series “Amelia Bedelia,” Herman Parish, will be joining the event for a free book giveaway and a book-signing session for the first 50 children, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s and RWJUH’s Brain Aneurysm & AVM Program is a highly specialized, interdisciplinary, patient-focused program providing a range of expert treatment for brain aneurysms and AVMs, including new techniques that are changing the way neurosurgeons treat aneurysms. The program’s support group meets bimonthly in New Brunswick, enabling patients and their family to meet with their peers and participate in open discussions on managing daily activities, including healthy living, spiritual healing, and nutrition and exercise.
“It is critically important to help increase awareness of and support for these potentially life-threatening conditions,” says Gaurav Gupta, MD, assistant professor of surgery and neurosurgery, director of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at RWJUH and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and director of the New Jersey Brain Aneurysm & AVM Program. “Approximately six million Americans have an unruptured aneurysm, with ruptures occurring on average once every 18 minutes in this country. Ruptures can be devastating: about 40 percent result in fatalities within the first 24 hours, while as many as 25 percent more of these patients die from complications within six months, and two-thirds of survivors have some type of permanent neurological deficit. We are pleased to help spread the word about aneurysm and the types of advanced, life-saving treatments that are available here.”
“This inaugural run/walk is another way we are helping support our patients and their family members,” he adds. “We are committed not only to providing advanced care tailored to each patient, but also to supporting individuals throughout the process of recovery and their evolving issues and concerns.”
The event hosts and sponsors invite residents of the community to come out to the event and support the worthy cause. Participants can register online for the event at GIVE.BAFOUND.ORG/2014NJSUPPORT. Participation costs $30 for adults and $15 for participants under the age of 12. Persons who register by September 6 will get an early bird rate of $25 and will be guaranteed an event t-shirt.
All proceeds will benefit the Brain Aneurysm & AVM Program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, as well as the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
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About Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
Part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 20 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cardiovascular Institute, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels on its campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, visit rwjms.rutgers.edu or interact via social media at www.facebook.com/RWJMedicalSchool and www.twitter.com/RWJMS.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville, offering Central New Jersey residents expanded access to the highest quality medical services and a wider array of innovative therapies available at only a small number of elite academic medical centers nationwide. RWJUH’s New Brunswick and Somerset campuses now serve as the flagship hospital of Robert Wood Johnson Health System, New Jersey’s premier health system of choice, which currently has $1.5 billion in revenue, approximately 10,300 employees, 3,250 medical staff members, and 1,733 beds.
RWJUH New Brunswick is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care, from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation; cancer care; and women’s and children’s care, including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The hospital is also a Level 1 Trauma Center and serves as a national resource in its groundbreaking approaches to emergency preparedness. RWJUH Somerset provides comprehensive health care services to residents throughout Central New Jersey. Its Steeplechase Cancer Center is designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, it is a Joint Commission- and state-designated Primary Stroke Center, and The Joint Surgery Institute at RWJUH Somerset has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery.
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