Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, associate vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Department of Pediatrics, and assistant professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine in the School of Medicine, received the Health and Equity Leadership Award at the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women event on May 9.
Owusu-Ansah, a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric emergency medicine physician, is also the medical director of Prehospital Care and EMS at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
She was honored at the event at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center celebrating 100 years of the American Heart Association (AHA) and 20 years of the Go Red for Women initiative, designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health.
During the event, Owusu-Ansah called on members of the Pitt women’s soccer team to demonstrate “hands-only” CPR, which is considered easier to learn than traditional CPR and less intimidating for people who may be hesitant to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Beginning in February 2023, she spearheaded training all of Pitt’s 19 Division 1 teams–nearly 500 student-athletes–in CPR. Women’s soccer goalie Ellie Breech credits that training with saving the life of her father, who had a heart attack on Christmas Day, 2024.
Leeanna McKibben, chief of staff and vice chancellor of administration, health sciences, served as the chairwoman for the AHA’s centennial year event.