Aurora nurse seeks participants for Chicago Gospel Run/Walk

For Faith Nyong, living longer doesn’t just seem important, it is.

The Faith Community Nurse at Ascension Mercy in Aurora is focused on health equity, especially when it comes to African-Americans.

At this week’s City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, she stressed the difference in life expectancy for African-Americans – the average is 75 years, as opposed to 81 years for everyone else, she said.

“That’s egregious,” she said.

Nyong is looking for African-Americans and those who love African-Americans to come out this Saturday for the Gospel Run/Walk in Chicago.

As it stands now, she is taking a busload of 100 people from Aurora into the event along Lake Shore Drive, but would love more.

Back in 2019, before the pandemic shut things down for a while, she took as many as 300.

“We’re building back up from COVID,” she said. “It’s a beautiful thing to see. We take up a portion of Lake Shore Drive, there is gospel music …”

There is a virtual element to the event, too, where people can participate through Zoom, she said.

“It gives everyone a nice jump start,” she said.

For information on the event go to http://gospelrun.com/.

For her effort, Mayor Richard Irvin presented Nyong with a Mayor’s Award of Excellence, recognizing her work “for the health and well-being of Aurora’s African-American community.”

In March of 2021, when meetings still were being held through Zoom, she was recognized by the City Council as a Health Care Hero.

slord@tribpub.com