Fun Night Out Benefits Community

By Misty Cryer

Events that include a night out in Carlsbad are often tied to a worthy cause. This is true for Casino Night, hosted by Partners in Heart Health, a fun-filled evening coming up that features dinner, drinks, games, and prizes to benefit the local non-profit organization.

Casino Night is scheduled for 6:30-9:30 p.m. on February 21 in the Carousel House of the Pecos River Village Conference Center, 711 Muscatel Ave.

“The idea is to raise money and to also have fun,” said Dr. Ryan, founder of Partners in Heart Health. “It gives us something different to do in Carlsbad. It’s fun to dress up and come out and play live-action casino games,” she said.

“We have Double Down; it’s a company out of Albuquerque that came down last year for our first event,” said Ryan. “Basically, they have live-action casino games,” she said, mentioning roulette, blackjack, poker, and slot machines.

With standard casino dealers, Ryan said, participants pay money to get chips to play. “You trade your money in for tickets, then you can put those tickets in for different prizes,” she said.

“We’ve got some really great prizes,” said Ryan. As examples, she said, they have a nice Blackstone Grill, a computer, a flight and hotel stay for three nights in Las Vegas, a humidor for cigar lovers, and a wine pull. “We have a winery in Napa Valley that has donated a couple of cases of wine for us, so that’s fun,” she said.

Summer Gonzales, Director of Development for Partners in Heart Health, said tickets include entry and food. Lucy’s out of Lovington will serve dinner, and there will be a cash bar at the event.

The purpose of Partners in Heart Health is really to raise cardiovascular disease awareness, said Ryan. “In southeast New Mexico, the biggest focus we have is patient and staff education,” she said, specifying that the foundation supports nursing and allied health students in the area in multiple areas and colleges.

“There is a lot of discussion about building new buildings in healthcare, and that’s all great,” said Ryan. “As someone who participated in building a shiny, new, beautiful building, the biggest struggle has been to staff that building,” she said.

A major focus of the foundation is taking young people or returning students from the area who are interested in healthcare and really guiding them to go back to school, said Ryan, naming nursing and several allied health programs. Support provided by the foundation is not only for tuition costs but also for living expenses during those college years, she said, recognizing that living expenses tend to be a barrier for many people in continuing their education.

Acknowledging that scholarships are available, Ryan said a lot of them are to be used only for tuition and will not cover any kind of living expenses. “We have tried to be more creative at what we can really help cover. Realistically, we need them as badly as they need us in this community,” she said, highlighting that the only expectation of recipients is that they work at least a year in southeast New Mexico for any year they get the scholarship.

Another major focus of the foundation is helping patients who cannot afford cardiovascular services. “We have a grant application option,” said Ryan, specifying that the grants are not just for her services. Referring to the foundation’s board, she said, “We have a very good group that helps us decide where we’re going to spend our funds and what we are going to do.”

Casino Night is one of the two major fundraisers for Partners in Heart Health, said Ryan. “Last year, we raised $17,000,” she said.

For the second major fundraiser, she said, “We usually have a heart-healthy luncheon—a Heart Disease Awareness luncheon. Actually, this year, we will have it in September,” she said, explaining that September is designated as both AFib Awareness and Peripheral Artery Disease Awareness Month.

To make reservations for the Casino Night event, call Summer at 575-909-0729. Tickets are $50 each, or a table for six can be reserved for $250.