Staff members at the Aldrich School, Howell, show their support for the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" event. HOWELL - One week after giving birth to a son, Melinda Muller found out that the baby had a congenital heart defect.

Muller, who is a fifth-grade teacher at Howell's Aldrich School, learned that her son, Billy, was missing the center structure of his heart and had to have surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The surgery was a success and Billy, who is now 2 years old, is doing very well.

With a special concern for heart health, Muller and the other faculty and staff at the Aldrich School wore red on Feb. 1 to demonstrate their support for the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" event.

Muller said the initiative by the staff was much appreciated and very special to her."

It's overwhelming that every single staff member participated. This is like a second home for me and for them to rally around this cause means a lot. This is also a great opportunity for us to raise awareness about heart disease and to raise funds" for this cause, she said.

School nurse Jane Dimon led the program. Dimon, who had a loved one die from heart disease, jumped at the opportunity after being approached by a representative of the American Heart Association.

"The American Heart Association reached out to us last year. I thought this was a great idea. This is the second year we have participated. The whole idea is to educate the staff and to make them aware of heart disease. I don't just take care of the children, I also take care of the staff," Dimon said.

"Go Red" pins were sold as a fundraiser at the school.

Although wearing red on Feb. 1 was a staff initiative, the pupils were indirectly involved.

According to physical education teacher Michael Sullivan, "One thing we try to do here is promote healthy hearts through physical fitness."

"Each month we have marathon day, where the children run for a number of minutes. In September the children were able to run for three minutes nonstop. As of now 90 percent of our students can run nonstop for seven minutes. By April we hope to have them run for 10 minutes nonstop," Sullivan said.

Children who reach the goal get to see their name placed on the gym wall, he added.

According to Principal Albert Bohrer, this initiative is an example of how the Aldrich School "strongly promotes health and well being, which goes hand in hand" with the Howell School District's health and nutrition guidelines.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control state that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Heart disease kills about 700,000 people in the United States each year.

A few ways to prevent heart disease are to eat a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber; keep a healthy weight; getting regular exercise; not smoking; exercising; and having only moderate alcohol use, according to information provided by the CDC.