David Gergen, president of the Pro Player Health Alliance (PPHA), Andre Collins, executive director of the Professional Athletes Foundation at the NFLPA, and Dr Archie Roberts, founder of the Living Heart Foundation (LHF), are looking to increase awareness and improve overall health with a series of evaluations across the country through a research initiative known as the HOPE Program.

HOPE (Heart, Obesity, Prevention & Education) Program health evaluations conducted by LHF include extensive blood testing, body composition, blood pressure determinations, dental hygiene evaluations, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) testing, and several other tests aimed at evaluating cardiovascular risk and educating former NFL players about the risks associated with obesity.

Living Heart Foundation, together with the NFLPA and Pro Player Health Alliance, will continue the HOPE Program evaluations in Seattle on September 7, 2014 at the University of Washington Medical Center Regional Heart Center. David Gergen has been appointed as the sleep apnea director and general dentistry director of LHF’s HOPE Program. Gergen and members of PPHA will be on-site providing education, awareness, and evaluations regarding sleep disordered breathing and dentistry.

Tasked with staffing the HOPE Program evaluation, Gergen turned to Drs Lance Timmerman and Steve Carstensen. “Dr Timmerman really takes the time to get to know each one of his patients, he is constantly keeping up with technological advances in dentistry. and I know he can provide world-class dentistry to the former players,” Gergen says. “Dr Carstensen will be alongside PPHA to conduct sleep apnea evaluations for the HOPE Program. He grew up in Seattle and has lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of his life so I just thought he was a natural fit for this event.”

If you would like to find out more about the HOPE Program, visit www.livingheartfoundation.org.