ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 18, 2025 — According to the American Heart Association, 9 in 10 people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of the hospital die, and more than half don’t receive bystander CPR. CPR — especially if performed immediately — can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. To help improve cardiac arrest outcomes in the Rochester area, LeKeyah Wilson, M.D., vice president of Community Engagement and Social Impact at Rochester Regional Health, will chair the 2026 Rochester Heart Walk & Run, leading a year-round effort to rally companies and community members to raise critical funds and expand CPR education.
Heart Walk is the largest community-facing initiative of the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere. Through fundraising, community education and corporate engagement, Heart Walk & Run aims to make CPR education and training more accessible, fund vital research and drive equitable health for all. Under Wilson’s leadership, top executives in the Rochester area will work to recruit other organizations to join the local Heart Walk & Run campaign and help build a community of lifesavers.
“Rochester is my home, and serving as Heart Walk & Run chair is an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped me," said Wilson. “Having grown up here and now working closely with our schools and neighborhoods, I see every day how education and early action can transform lives. Working together, we can strengthen our communities by expanding CPR training, raising awareness and building a network of lifesavers across our region.”
According to the Heart Association’s 2024 CPR Perceptions Survey, 39% of people — or approximately 103 million U.S. adults — now feel “extremely confident” or “very confident” they could correctly perform CPR, up from 33% in 2021. That’s roughly 17.7 million more adults who are highly confident in their ability to conduct CPR, yet 61% still lack high confidence to act in a cardiac emergency.
“We’re extremely proud of the progress that’s been made over the past several years, but our work is far from over,” said Shane Grant, advisory board chair for the American Heart Association of Rochester, NY, and managing director of agency operations at Dixon Schwabl + Company. “With LeKeyah’s commitment to making Rochester a safer, stronger community, I’m confident she’s the right person for the role. We’re looking forward to seeing incredible results from this year’s Heart Walk & Run campaign and hope the community will join us in making it a success.”
Wilson is a Rochester native and lifelong advocate for regional health equity. She leads Rochester Regional Health’s School-Based Health Centers and Community Affairs programming, where she works closely with families, students and neighborhood partners to expand access to care and education across the region. Known for her commitment to empowering communities and improving health outcomes, Wilson brings both professional expertise and a deeply personal connection to heart health to her new role as chair.
The Heart Association is a global leader in resuscitation science, education and training, and the official publisher of CPR guidelines. Through the Nation of Lifesavers™ movement, the Association is working to ensure that more people are ready to perform CPR and be a vital link in the chain of survival, supporting its goal of doubling the survival rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by 2030.
The Rochester Heart Walk & Run will take place on June 6, 2026 at Monroe Community College. Participants will walk or join a self-timed run in celebration of local survivors and the lifesaving progress made in the Rochester community.
Companies interested in participating can contact local Heart Walk Director Kelly Naab at Kelly.Naab@heart.org. Learn more and register at RochesterHeartWalk.org.
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About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
For Media Inquiries:
Kristy Smorol, communications director:
For Public Inquiries: 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721)
heart.org and stroke.org
