Report: Men of color
are in a health-care crisis
I SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON - Because
men from ,facial and ethnic
! minority populations face such
high risk of heart disease, dia
betes, HIV/AIDS, and other
conditions and often lack
access to basic care, they are
now experiencing a health-care
crisis, according to a report
I released last week by Commu
nity Voices: Healthcare for the
Underserved. The organization
concluded that there is a grow
ing urgency to recognize and to
stem this crisis as the diversity
. of our nation continues to
expand, and unless action is
taken soon, the crisis, and
attendant financial implica
tions related to treating large
numbers of men living in
poverty, will grow.
The report, "A Poor Man's
. Plight: Uncovering the Dispar
; ity in Men's Health," examines
the health status of black, His
panic, Asian/Pacific Islander,,
Native American, and mixed
race men and identifies strate
gies that can reduce this alarm
| ing health gap.
| Authored by Dr. John Rich
?of the Boston Public Health
! Commission and Dr. Mar
[guerite Ro of Columbia Uni
1 versity. the report finds that
' men of color are overall less
! likely to have health insurance
| and less likely to access health
?care services than their white
! counterparts. Moreover, the
[report finds, men of color dis
| proportionately lack access to
much-needed mental health,
.substance abuse, and oral
I health services. "A Poor Man's
'Plight: Uncovering the Dispar
! ity in Men's Health" also offers
! insight into health issues that
'adversely impact minority
? communities:
| ? On average, African
[Americans, Latinos, Native
1 Americans, and Native Hawai
lians are nearly twice as likely
[to have diabetes as non-His
[ panic whites of similar age.
? ? HIV/AIDS is the second
.leading cause of death for
[African-American men
'between the ages of 25 and 44
| ? '
? __________
an<T the third leading cause of
death for Latino men in the
same age group.
? Men of color suffer higher
rates of preventable illness,
such as sexually transmitted
diseases. This is particularly
the case for African-American
and Latino men who have rates
of gonorrhea, chlamydia,
syphilis and herpes infection
that are higher than for other
men of 'color and much higher
than white men.
? In 1998, men of color
accounted for 70 percent of
deaths by homicide in the Unit
ed States. Homicide is the
leading cause of death for
African-American men
between the ages of 15 and 34
and the second leading cause
of death for Latino men in the
same age group.
"Policy-makers and health
care providers fail to focus on
how to combat the excessive
and unacceptable levels of
morbidity and mortality that
plague the lives of poor men
and men of color," said Dr. ,
Henrie Treadwell, program
director, W.K. Kellogg Foun
dation. "This report acknowl
edges the historical, social, and
political factors that have
blocked access lo care for men
of color and provides us a
roadmap to move forward in
addressing the needs of this
vulnerable population."
"A Poor Man's Plight:
Uncovering the Disparity in
Men's Health" outlines 12 pol
icy strategies to( overcome
obstacles that mrtf of color
face in accessing appropriate
health care. These recommen
dations include:
? Expand health insurance
coverage for men of color.
? Establish enhanced points
of entry into health care for
men of color.
? Increase the availability
of community-based screening
and services for men of color
and increase outreach to men
of color.
? Build a culturally compe
tent work force.
? Expand research and data
collection on the health of men
of color.
? Develop community
coalitions of health, public
health and social service
providers who serve men of
color.
? Develop national, state,
and local policy agendas for
the health of men of color.
File Phpto
Citing issues such as AIDS/HIV and homicide, a Baltimore
based group last week said that men of color, especially black
men, are facing a health crisis.
Race
from /hi h? ai
segments are the least able to
do what needs to be done for
themselves."
While education has been
her field for years. Beatty said
she has diverse issues that she
is concerned about, including
the economy.
Beatty is not exactly a
newcomer to politics. More
than 10 years ago she ran
unsuccessfully for an at-lafge
seat on the Board of County
Commissioners. She is confi
dent that this time around she
can be successful if she gets
her message out effectively.
"People should take this
election very seriously," she
said, "because the Legislature
now is in a pivotal position
and the decisions it will be
making will affect us for a
while to come." .
The fighter
As the head of a nonprofit
social service agency, George
Bryan has had to go toe to toe
with legislators in Raleigh
more times than he cares to
remember.
"It seems as if every time
we are beginning to make
progress on something, we
have to deal with -something
in Raleigh." said Bryan, the
executive director of
Exchange/SCAN, an agency
that works to fight child abuse
and on other family-related
issues.
Bryan says he wants to
make a difference in Raleigh
by keeping in focus the peo
ple who are affected by deci
sions made in the General
Assembly.
Bryan, through his job.
has worked to develop several
legislative bills. He counts
that experience as a big plus
for him.
"I know the system from
the bottom side up." he said.
In addition to family
issues, Bryan says he will
work to eliminate equality
issues, such as over-represen
tation of minorities in the
child welfare system.
Bryan is the president of
the West End Neighborhood
Association, a title that he
says has nurtured in him an
ability to bring diverse groups
together to ponder solutions
to complicated problems.
The regular person
When Mischi Binkley
found out that Oldham was
not running, she called up
Marlowe Foster, a young
Democrat who lost a hard
fought election to Alderman
Vernon Robinson last year for
the South Ward, to urge him
to run for Oldham's seat.
When he declined and Bink
ley saw that there was only
one person signed up to run in
the 72nd District, she decided
to run.
"I decided to run to at
least give voters a choice. I
believe that is important,"
said Binkley. a longtime faith
ful member of the Democratic
Party
who has
led the
Forsyth
County
Democ
r a t i c
Women
organi
z a t i o n
and
served
as cam
p a i g n
coordinator for Allen Joines'
successful bid for mayor.
By the time Binkley got to
the Board of Elections to file,
she learned that the race for
Oldham's seat had become
packed quickly, but she still
filed because she said those
who filed before her probably
would not fight for the issues
she is passionate about. Bink
ley said she is concerned
about many issues, from the
environment to education and
jobs. She has been a single
mother and says she under
stands and is concerned about
the special issues that group
has to deal with as well.
Efinkley calls herself a
"regular person" who will
fight for issues that concern
regular people like herself.
"I don't represent special
interest," she said. "I want to
be a voice for people."
The political veteran
Earline Parmon had
already filed for a fourth term
on the Board of County Com
missioners when she finally
made the decision to run for
Oldham's seat.
"When I learned that Pele
Oldham would not run. I felt
that it would leave us without
an experienced leader," Par
mon said. "I felt with my
experience in government, I
would have something to
offer."
Although Parmon has the
experience and name recogni
tion, she said she is not rely
ing on them alone to propel
her to Raleigh.
" I
will
c a m -
p a i g n
like I
have
always
done
and go
door to
d 0*0 r, "
she said.
B u t
Parm o n
definitely sees her vast expe
rience as a public servant as a
plus.
"I feel good about my
record and the service 1 pro
vided to this community over
the years," she said.
Parmon was tfce executive
director of LIFT Academy, a
charter school that last year
lost a battle with the state to
keep its doors open. Parmon
said she is not running for the
House to try to get LIFT
"reopened." She says her plat
form is broad and includes
fighting Iq&educational parity
and the local economy.
"My campaign is not nar
row....There are so many
issues that are critical for us
locally."
Homes 1 year and
older need to be
checked for termites
".4 flea circus is a
good act but it takes
termites to bring a
home down."
Cali
Triad Pest Control
1535 S. Martin l.uther King Drive
Winston-Salem, NC
| 788-3020 |
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