Make Them Know Your Name Foundation Supports Cardiovascular Care
Denzel Ward and his family's Make Them Know Your Name Foundation (MTKYN) are supporting University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute with a $150,000 donation. The institute will use the generous gift to launch a community education initiative surrounding heart health.
Ward, cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, created MTKYN in memory of his father who passed away in 2016 due to cardiac arrest. The foundation’s mission is to positively impact the heart disease epidemic, in part through providing CPR training, AED equipment and resources, and community education to emphasize the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle.
Close to half a million Americans die each year from cardiac arrest, according to the American Heart Association. Cardiac arrest is fatal nearly 90 percent of the time, but performing immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival.
“I know first-hand what it is like to experience a loss due to a cardiac episode,” shared Ward. “That’s why I’m so passionate about expanding outreach and education in this city that means so much to me, with hope of being able to expand our reach even further in the future.”
Ward and MTKYN have a history of support for UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute. Ward was nominated as the Browns' recipient for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2021. Through his nomination, Ward was given the opportunity to provide a fan with two Super Bowl tickets.
Grateful for Immediate Care
Raheem Stanfield had no idea going into cardiac arrest would be his ticket to the Super Bowl, but that’s exactly how his story unfolded.
In 2016, shortly before going into cardiac arrest after a basketball game with friends at Case Western Reserve University, Stanfield told a friend he might need an ambulance.
A passing neurosurgery resident dashed over to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the 25-year-old, the first step in a complex process of perfusing the heart until paramedics arrived to rush him to UH Cleveland Medical Center.
"When Raheem arrived in the Emergency Department, he did not have a pulse, but we kept pushing,” said Christopher N. Miller, MD, President of UH Clinical Network and an emergency medicine physician at UH Cleveland Medical Center. Dr. Miller and his team brought Stanfield back to life that evening. “Raheem’s case perfectly illustrates the premium everyone should place on bystander CPR in the pre-hospital setting. If he had not received high-quality CPR prior to his arrival in the Emergency Department, he would not be alive to tell his story.”
Trip of a Lifetime
After hearing about Raheem’s story, Ward and MTKYN selected him to receive tickets to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles last month. Raheem's story perfectly fit the mission of the foundation.
“That was shocking. When they told me, my goal was to not completely freak out,” shared Stanfield. “But it was super exciting and cool to learn about Denzel’s foundation. I want to figure out how I can be involved because the cause they’re pushing for is what saved my life.”
“Partnering with UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute to care for the community makes perfect sense for us and our foundation,” said Nicole Ward, Executive Director of MTKYN and Denzel’s mother. “We’re excited to see how this donation will make a positive impact, especially as we look to focus on areas with a population of people of color.”
“To receive this type of support from Denzel and the Make Them Know Your Name Foundation means we can continue in our mission to improve the health of all people in Northeast Ohio. Through education and awareness we save lives,” said Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, MPH, PhD, President of UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, and Angela and James Hambrick Chair in Innovation.
Join Denzel Ward and Make Them Know Your Name Foundation in supporting UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.