UnitedHealthcare teams up with National Radio Host Tom Joyner to promote health awareness for African Americans
UnitedHealthcare is offering free health screenings, wellness activities at Tom Joyner’s “Take A Loved One to the Doctor Day” health fairs
Â
Online health and wellness tools can help identify risks and improve African Americans’ health
Â
Minnetonka, MN (BlackNews.com) — UnitedHealthcare will provide complimentary health screenings and wellness activities to the general public at radio host Tom Joyner’s “Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day®” health fairs Sept. 28 in cities across the United States.
Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day is a health-awareness campaign founded by Joyner in 2002 for African Americans that aims to address major health disparities that affect the African-American community. Now in its ninth year, this national on-air campaign urges radio listeners to better educate themselves, loved ones, family members and friends to take a stand for their health by communicating the importance of regular visits to the doctor.
The health and wellness fairs will be held Tuesday at the following times and locations:
Lithonia, Ga.
The Mall at Stonecrest
2929 Turner Hill Road
6 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST
Detroit, Mich.
Northwest Activities Center
18100 Meyers
6 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST
Durham, N.C.
Durham Regional Hospital
3643 N Roxboro St.
6 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST
Dallas, Texas
Martin Luther King Jr. Center
2901 Pennsylvania Street
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST
Kansas City, Mo.
The Shops at Blue Parkway Center Atrium
4309 E. 50th Terrace
5 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST
Washington, D.C.
Providence Hospital
1150 Varnum St., NE
6 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST
Philadelphia, Pa.
New Covenant Church of Philadelphia
7500 Germantown Avenue
6 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST
UnitedHealthcare will offer complimentary health screenings ranging from bone density to glaucoma, and/or wellness activities such as fitness demonstrations and chair massages at many locations. UnitedHealthcare will also provide a variety of handouts regarding exercise, nutrition and wellness for the entire family, plus giveaways, including a health digest.
“We are pleased to have UnitedHealthcare join us as a sponsor of Take A Loved One to the Doctor Day. Through their commitment, our community will have access to important screenings and wellness resources that can assist in earlier detection of diseases and conditions that plague us most,” Joyner said. “UnitedHealthcare is also a long-time supporter of The Tom Joyner Foundation, which provides scholarships to college students who will one day become health care professionals such as doctors and nurses, who are important in improving the health outcomes of communities of color.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, African Americans are more likely to suffer from a number of health conditions – including heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes – than people of other racial and ethnic groups. Despite this disparity, health experts say individuals can take control of their health and live a long, healthy and productive life by adopting healthy habits and staying current on important checkups and tests.
“Although the African-American community is disproportionately affected by a number of serious medical conditions, there are several things people can do to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families,” said Jacqueline Stiff, M.D., MSPH, UnitedHealthcare vice president of health care strategies. “Smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits are some behaviors that we can control to help live longer, healthier lives.”
One way to become more engaged and educated about one’s health is to create a “Family Health History Tree.” Available online at www.uhcgenerationstree.com, UnitedHealthcare’s Family Health History Tree walks users through simple steps to create a family health history. The online tool then draws up a detailed maternal and fraternal family tree, creating a visual record that can be printed or e-mailed to share with family as well as a doctor to learn how to reduce health risks such as stroke.
There are also other online health and wellness resources at UnitedHealthcare’s Generations of Wellness® website (www.uhcgenerations.com) including a Virtual Family Reunion tool that features an interactive wellness checklist; a dance/calorie estimator; answers to frequently asked questions about health issues and disparities affecting African Americans; and healthy family-favorite recipes.
“Everyone inherits certain health risks, but we can decrease our risks of many conditions by living healthier and scheduling annual checkups with a family physician,” Dr. Stiff said. “The key to good health is prevention, education and early diagnosis, so that a small problem today doesn’t become a chronic or disabling condition tomorrow.”
Â
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of approximately 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with more than 600,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
