Phyllis Clark, who as the founder of Healthy Heritage Wellness Movement, is working with owners of Inland Empire Black barbershops to provide this outreach effort. “The program will use these barbershops as platforms to disseminate health education information and give screenings to Black men, who exhibit poorer health outcomes than any other racial group in America.”
(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program (BBHOP) will launch its Los Angeles Initiative in more than 100 barbershops across southern California on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program, a nationwide initiative, highlights the need for African American men to adopt healthier lifestyles, and promotes awareness and early detection of diabetes, hypertension and prostate cancer. It was founded by and Charles Drew University Associate Professor Dr. Bill J. Releford, DPM.
“The program grew out of recognizing the barbershop as a centralized gathering place for Black men, and that barbers can link other men to health resources,” said Phyllis Clark, who as the founder of Healthy Heritage Wellness Movement, is working with owners of Inland Empire Black barbershops to provide this outreach effort. “The program will use these barbershops as platforms to disseminate health education information and give screenings to Black men, who exhibit poorer health outcomes than any other racial group in America.”
Working directly in participating barbershops, a team of nurses, physicians and volunteers provide health information, diabetes and hypertension screenings and referrals to no or low-cost primary care providers. The southern California outreach efforts beginning Saturday will also include Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program’s new initiative, “PEP Talk,” the Prostate Education Project, designed to help African American men discuss the subject of prostate cancer.
To learn more about the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program, visit http://www.blackbarbershop.org
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