The American Heart Association welcomed close to 120 supporters to the York Heart Ball on April 9 at the Country Club of York. It was the first time the event was held in person since April 2019; the event was held virtually in 2020 and 2021. The campaign, led by chair Josh Smeltzer, senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management - The Sides Group, raised $152,000 for the American Heart Association.

During the Heart Ball, Smeltzer listed some of the American Heart Association's initiatives, such as offering virtual community conversations about youth vaping, providing CPR training kits in local schools and sharing information with patients to help them control their blood pressure.

Amy Lutz of Fox43 hosted the evening's dinner program, which recognized event sponsors and volunteers for their contributions to the American Heart Association and its work in the community. Chris Lipp, vice president of the heart and vascular service line at WellSpan Health, helped kick the evening off with a toast.

In addition to silent and live auctions, guests supported the cause through the Open Your Heart appeal featuring the story of 2-year-old congenital heart defect survivor Jace Taughinbaugh. Jace was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect before he was born in November 2019. At birth, he was found to have several other defects, including fused ribs, abnormal-shaped vertebrae in the spine and a duplicated collecting system in his left kidney that resulted in a rare diagnosis of Goldenhar syndrome. He underwent two open heart surgeries and received a permanent pacemaker in 2020. In September 2021, he led the York Heart Walk and Adams County Heart Walk.

The dollars raised by the York Heart Ball fund the mission of the American Heart Association to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives while working toward the association's 2024 Health Equity Impact Goal of reducing barriers to health care access and quality.

This year's York Heart Ball was sponsored by WellSpan Health, UPMC and UPMC Health Plan, M&T Bank, Encompass Health, Medtronic and other contributors.

Photos and event highlights can be found by searching for @AHAPennsylvania on Facebook and visiting http://yorkheartball.heart.org.

For information about supporting the 2023 York Heart Ball campaign, which will be co-chaired by Lipp and Dr. James Harvey, cardiologist at WellSpan Health, contact Gail Frassetta at gail.frassetta@heart.org or 717-730-1771.