WFH enlists local barbers to reach out to African American men
Barber Ray Bufford (standing) was recently honored with a Black Excellence Award for Community Leadership, by The Milwaukee Times weekly newspaper, for his work with the Men’s Barbershop Initiative.
In 2003, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare (WFH) developed the Barbershop Men’s Health Initiative as a creative way to raise awareness of prostate and colon cancer prevention and detection among African American men – a population that faces disproportionate risks for these diseases, as well as barriers to prompt and successful treatment.
“In the African American community, the neighborhood barbershops are almost exclusively the domain for diverse groups of black men, and are a natural and existing channel for communication and information,” said Maebe Brown, Wheaton Franciscan Cancer Care’s coordinator. “The Barbershop Initiative embodies this natural link and creates a culturally sensitive program for early detection and prevention.”
WFH encourages participating barbers to talk to their clients about prevention and early detection by providing them with posters, displays and take-home materials. The barbers also promote free screenings in the Milwaukee area. Through the program, African American males receive a special “prescription,” written by participating barbers, for free prostate cancer screenings.
Fred Holloway, owner of Brew City Barbers, was among the first to receive a free, potentially life-saving prostate cancer screening as the result of a new program funded by Assurant Health Foundation in conjunction with WFH and the Family Care Center. Holloway is an African American male over 45 who never had a screening for prostate cancer. Nor does he have a primary care physician. “Fred is the perfect candidate for this program,” said Brown. “He is exactly the type of individual we are trying to reach and encourage to have a screening.”
Patients typically receive the results from their screenings within one week. In addition, WFH provides a list of doctors to patients who do not have primary care physicians.