Focusing on Chronic Disease Risk Factors for Men of Color
Pictured, from left at Heads Up Barbershop in Long Branch are barbers Arron Moore and Paul Moultrie, Monmouth Medical Center employees Jeffrey Cooper and Justin Hubbard, and Micah Goff, owner of Heads Up Barbershop and a member of the MMC Long Branch Advisory Council.
Long Branch, NJ – October 2, 2020 – Monmouth Medical Center staff conducted blood pressure and body mass index screenings and provided cancer awareness/education on cancer screenings for 27 participants at the Tackling Men’s Health Issues Together: Men’s Health Screening and Awareness Day.
Presented by MMC’s Community Health, Diversity and Inclusion and Cancer Services departments, in partnership with Micah Goff, owner of Heads Up Barbershop, the event was held September 26 at the Long Branch barbershop. Monmouth Medical Center employees, Justin Hubbard, a Surgical Services PCA on the Ortho/Neuro Unit, and Jeffrey Cooper, ED Tech, conducted 54 screenings and participants were encouraged to spend time with them to learn about risk factors for chronic diseases and cancer that affect men of color. Additionally, health educational materials, FIT (fecal immune chemical tests) kits, water, healthy snacks, PPE and prizes for participants were provided.
The prevention and treatment of obesity and associated chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer is one of three goals that was adopted in the hospital’s 2020 Community Health Needs Assessment. Establishing a reoccurring health program in community settings such as barbershops, hair salons and food pantries in Long Branch that serve high risk populations was one of the initiatives chosen.
“The pandemic prevented the rollout of many of our community initiatives, and MMC is grateful that Micah Goff partnered with us to launch this initiative,” said Jean McKinney, Regional Director, Community Health and Social Impact and Community Investment.
To learn more about community health events presented by Monmouth Medical Center, visit rwjbh.org/Monmouth and click on calendar of events.
About Monmouth Medical Center:
Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) facility, along with The Unterberg Children’s Hospital, is a regional teaching campus for Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As the first hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Monmouth Medical Center offers the most experienced surgeons in robotics and other minimally invasive procedures as well as bariatric and joint and spine surgery. Monmouth Medical Center delivers more babies annually than all other hospitals in Monmouth and Ocean counties combined and the fourth most in the state and was recently one of nine New Jersey hospitals recognized by Newsweek magazine as a top maternity hospital. The hospital offers access to the region’s top cardiologists and the award-winning, nationally recognized RWJBarnabas heart centers. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has conferred Magnet® recognition for Monmouth Medical Center as a reflection of its nursing professionalism, teamwork and superiority in patient care. It is the only hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties to consistently receive an “A” Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit organization. RWJBarnabas Health and Monmouth Medical Center, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey — the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — brings a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight alongside patients, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials.
CONTACT: Kathy Horan
(732) 546-6317
Kathy.Horan@rwjbh.org