LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- "Building Better Communities Through Better Health" is the theme of a major free Community Health Fair to be held in South Los Angeles on Saturday, October 20, sponsored by H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Excel) and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.
Developed to provide area residents with free comprehensive health care information and screenings, and also to encourage a proactive approach to their health care, the fair will be held at the Nickerson Gardens Recreation Center, 11251 Compton Ave., in Los Angeles, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. Beginning at 11:30 A.M., speakers will include Casper Glenn, M.D. and Susan Kelly, Ph.D., FAPS, President and CEO of Charles Drew University, and the Rev. Melvin Ashley, Director of H.O.P.E.
Available at the Health Fair will be free screenings for STD/HIV/AIDS, blood pressure, diabetes and other health conditions, along with information on dental care, exercise, and nutrition. Safety and violence prevention tips will also be available, with discussions about the impact of stress on individual health.
"The University looks forward to working more closely with the communities in South Los Angeles to improve the opportunity for quality health care," says Dr. Kelly. "This event in collaboration with H.O.P.E. is a step in that direction. We look forward to working with H.O.P.E. and other organizations to build better communities through better health."
Commenting on the Health Fair, Rev. Ashley said, "It is often quoted that if you give a man a fish, it satisfies his hunger temporarily. If you give a man a pole, it equips him for life. We at H.O.P.E. believe in giving an individual this 'pole' in the form of an alternative, more positive life style. This Health Fair will provide the community alternatives that will lead to better health - it is essentially designed to promote healthier lifestyles through better choices." Rev. Ashley noted that underserved populations feel they have limited choices and resources.
"We will help community residents by providing them options to address a wide variety of health issues," he said. "We will provide information about exercise, developing alternative eating and cooking habits, ways to stay healthy, low-cost health care coverage, as well as broader education and increased awareness."
According to a Los Angeles County health study, the three leading causes of death in the community are heart disease, cancer and stroke. Discussions and information at the Community Health Fair will focus on these issues and many others.
Dr. Glenn will discuss how cultural and social conditions, and personal habits -- such as a poor diet and smoking -- can have a greater impact than heredity in an individual's health. Overall risk can be reduced through lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol, regular exercise, and weight control, for example, he said.
Tips and information on all of these topics will be available at the Community Health Fair. For more details and information about the Community Health Fair, contact Rev. Ashley at (310) 753-8560 or Brenda J. Breaux at (213) 359-0106.
Further information about The Charles Drew University may be found on its website at http://www.cdrewu.edu.
About H.O.P.E.
Since 2001, Helping Other People Excel (H.O.P.E.), a non-profit agency, has provided daily assistance to individuals and families in low income South Los Angeles communities regardless of race, creed or sexual preference. H.O.P.E. works with a network of caring organizations and provides solutions to challenging situations through donations of free clothing, food and referrals to mental health, drug treatment and family preservation services. H.O.P.E. has set a goal not only to assist but to equip people to obtain the dream of becoming self sufficient.
ABOUT THE CHARLES DREW UNIVERSITY:
A private non-profit educational institution in the Watts-Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles, The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has provided quality college, graduate and post-graduate education and training to thousands of qualified minority and other students for more than 35 years. As part of its mission, the University has also provided urgently needed healthcare services to chronically underserved residents of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County, serving the 1.7 million citizens in its 94-square-mile service area. If this service area were a municipality, it would be the fifth largest city in the U.S.
The University is also the nation's only dually designated Historically Black Graduate Institution and Hispanic Serving Health Professions School. Since 1971, the Charles Drew University has graduated over 500 medical doctors, 2,500 specialist physicians, 2,000 physicians assistants and hundreds of other, mainly minority, health professionals. Research shows that the vast majority of these professionals are still serving the people in greatest need a decade or more after graduation.
The University is widely regarded as an innovative medical education university pioneering in teaching doctors and healthcare professionals, and in conducting quality research, to deal with the special needs of the poor, chronically ill populations in the inner city. By expanding relationships with local medical schools, research institutions and community-based organizations, the University is focused on eliminating health care disparities by providing access to and delivery of vital health care services to underserved populations. The University has been remarkably successful in achieving its primary goal of producing physicians and other healthcare professionals who return to the community to serve people who are uninsured or underinsured.
The Charles Drew University's unique environment of providing medical education has been lauded as a national model. Research shows both that its students become more committed to the mission as they progress through their medical education and that 10 years after graduation, 70% of Charles Drew University trained physicians are still working with underserved populations.