BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whittier Street Health Center will host its 2022 Black History Month Celebration on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, from Noon-2 p.m. The event will include health screenings, vaccinations, and referrals to wellness and prevention programs. Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, will serve as the Keynote Speaker and Whittier Street Health Center's President and CEO Frederica M. Williams will share the State of the Health Center address: Together We Must Achieve Health Equity. This year's Black History Month theme "Black Health and Wellness" focuses on the importance of Black Health and Wellness and pays tribute to Black pioneers' trailblazing contributions to Western medicine, addresses health disparities facing our communities, and encourages healing through education.
African Americans are generally at higher risk for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, according to the Office of Minority Health, part of the Department for Health and Human Services. One possible contributing factor: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says African Americans are more likely to die at early ages for all causes, as young African Americans are living with diseases that are typically more common at older ages for other races.
"As an organization with a long history of addressing health equity, social justice and the economic inequities impacting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), we have a deep commitment to engage our patients and community residents in behavior modification strategies and lifestyle changes that promote overall health and wellness — mind, body and spirit," said Whittier Street Health Center's President and CEO Frederica M. Williams. "COVID-19 has unmasked the long-standing inequities that have existed in the U.S for Black people for hundreds of years. Lack of access to medical care to seek treatment, quality health insurance, healthy food, housing, jobs and transportation are all factors that can indirectly contribute to heightened vulnerability. The 2022 Black History Month theme of Black Health and Wellness is another opportunity to engage our patients and cross-sector partners in addressing health equity, the social determinants of health and systemic racism."
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, stated, "This Black History Month, I am proud to join Whittier Street Health Center in celebrating Black Health and Wellness. Every day, health care providers like Whittier Street Health Center and public health officials work hand in hand to provide care, share resources, and build trust with Black communities that have faced centuries of institutional racism in health care and beyond. Our work not only reduces racial and ethnic health disparities, it also uplifts our Black communities and supports every person in achieving health and wellness. It's this progress and promise that we celebrate this month."
CONTACT:
617 989 3220
info@wshc.org
Related Images
Image 1: Whittier Street Health Center's FY 2021 Annual Report
Addressing Health Equity, Social Justice and the Economic Inequities Impacting Black People
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