Copyright 2004 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
September 22, 2004 Wednesday SOONER EDITION
SECTION: SCIENCE, MEDICINE, TECHNOLOGY, Pg.B-1
LENGTH: 702 words
HEADLINE: CUT, STYLED & INFORMED;
AT BLACK BARBERSHOPS AND BEAUTY SALONS, IT WAS A DAY FOR HEALTH ADVICE
BYLINE: MICHELLE K. MASSIE, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
BODY:
Minnie Miller spoke freely to the man standing beside her about the
preponderance of high blood pressure in her family. She also inquired about
heart disease.
But Miller was not talking to her doctor. Instead, she shared her concerns
with her barber.
Miller was among many customers around the city yesterday who not only
received haircuts and styles from their barbers, but health advice and
information too, as a part of the third annual "Take a Health Professional to
the People Day" sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Minority
Health.
Doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, health educators and medical
students were dispatched to nine barbershops and beauty salons in predominantly
black communities or those most frequented by black clientele.
The program seeks to build trust between health professionals and black
residents.
"I feel like when I talk to my barber, I can talk to him about anything,"
Miller said as she sat in the barber's chair at Wade's Barber Shop in Homewood.
Miller's barber, Art McGriff encouraged her and other customers yesterday to
have their blood pressure checked at a table set up in front of the shop and
manned by health professionals.
McGriff and the shop's proprietor, Wade Lipscomb , both know the value of
regular blood pressure screenings.
Five years ago, McGriff passed out on the floor in the back of the
barbershop. He was rushed to the hospital, where his blood pressure was measured
at 240/190 (normal is 120/80). He had suffered a brain aneurysm -- a burst blood
vessel. The long, bowed scar on the right side of his shaven head is a visible
reminder of the emergency surgery he underwent that day.
McGriff's ordeal led Lipscomb to have his blood pressure checked. The
screening revealed heart disease and eventually led to bypass surgery.
For the past year, the Center for Minority Health has conducted training for
many of the barbershop and salon operators and staff, such as Lipscomb and his
barbers, so they can act as lay health mentors or guides. They also answer
health-related questions and distribute literature, advise people where to turn
for answers, and encourage customers to take preventive steps such as scheduling
regular appointments and screenings with doctors.
"Sometimes barbers act as doctors, psychologists, counselors, role models,
students and teachers," said Kevin Andrews, owner of Bat's Barbershop in East
Liberty. "We can learn a lot from our customers and hopefully they can learn
something from us."
These lay health advisers also have the opportunity to be certified by the
American Red Cross in CPR and operation of Automated External Defibrillator
(AED) machines. But they do not replace health care workers.
"The goal is not to make them mini-health professionals but peer counselors
who provide fact-based, evidence-based health information to people," said
training coordinator Victoria Garner. "We want to make these barbershops, salons
and churches empowerment zones."
In an effort to further empower the communities served by these shops, the
Center for Minority Health is seeking funding to establish health information
kiosks in each of the nine barbershops and beauty salons. In addition to
literature, the kiosks will house wireless networked computers to provide
Internet access to even more information.
The costs to equip each location with computer stations and portable AEDs
will be between $5,000 to $10,000 per shop, according to Stephen Thomas, the
center's director.
The lay health adviser training was expanded this year to include selected
churches and public housing tenant councils throughout the Pittsburgh area.
Lay health advisers are available year-round in the shops and dispense
information and advice to anyone seeking it, not just regular customers.
"We're giving back to the community," Andrews said. "It's about helping each
other out. I am tired of seeing how sickly our communities are when they don't
have to be."
For more information on participating barbershops, beauty salons and
churches, contact the Center for Minority Health at 412-624-5665 or visit the
Web site at:
NOTES:
Michelle K. Massie can be reached at r 412-263-2533.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette: Darnell Grisham, 26, of the
Lincoln-Lemington section of Pittsburgh, listens to nurse practitioner Paula
Balogh explains what the numbers meant after she took his blood pressure
yesterday at Bat's Barbershop on Penn Avenue in East Liberty.
LOAD-DATE: September 22, 2004