Get medical screenings and more at the Minority Men’s Health Fair April 27

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Minority Men’s Health Fair returns April 27 for its 19th year. The fair provides men, who notoriously tend to avoid regular checkups, with a chance to identify a particular malaise before it reaches a critical point.

Dr. Charles Modlin, a board-certified neurologist and medical director of the Office of Equity Inclusion and Diversity at MetroHealth Medical Center, founded the health fair while working as director of minority health at the Cleveland Clinic.

“After I finished my transplant fellowship, I became aware of the significance and the magnitude and impact of health disparities that disproportionately afflicted minorities, especially African American populations,” Modlin said.

“I started educating myself and, in 2003, I conceived the idea of starting this Minority Men’s Health Fair,” Modlin said. (The fair took a hiatus during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic.)

This year’s event is from 5 to 8 p.m. April 27. Locations include MetroHealth’s Main Campus Medical Center, outpatient pavilion, 2500 MetroHealth Drive in Cleveland; Cleveland Heights Medical Center, 10 Severance Circle in Cleveland Heights; and Ohio City Medical Center, 4757 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland.

Medical staff will be available to offer health screenings for blood pressure, diabetes, dermatology, HIV, hepatitis A and B, mental health, cholesterol, urology, prostate, dental, vision and much more.

Modlin saw health disparities once he arrived at the Cleveland Clinic. The challenge was getting those in position to help make a positive statement toward the issue.

“I was always grateful and amazed at how healthcare providers rallied behind this cause from day one. After I was able to speak with them and highlight the existence and impact of healthcare disparities, because now it wasn’t something that was routinely discussed, and not every healthcare provider was aware that these disparities exist,” he said.

“Those who were aware were unaware of the magnitude and impact,” he said. “After speaking with the leadership at Cleveland Clinic, physicians and healthcare providers throughout the organization, there was a better understanding of the need to conduct something like a Minority Men’s Health Fair.

And while the health fair’s emphasis is on minority men, anyone is invited to attend.

“I always must ensure everybody understands we call it the Minority Men’s Health Fair; however, everybody is invited regardless of race, ethnicity or gender,” Modlin said.

“We wanted to engage specifically men of color, because they had the highest incidence of health disparities in a group in the United States.”

A recent article in Healio, a healthcare journal, discussed Black men and their high-risk prostate cancer.

“Black men had a 68 percent higher incidence of prostate cancer and 111 percent higher death rate related to prostate cancer than white men, who had the second-highest rates for both among the groups studied,” the article said.

“Investigators also found regional disparities, with the highest incidence of prostate cancer observed in Northern and some Southeastern regions and the highest prostate cancer-related death rates in Western regions.”

Training future healthcare providers

Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Lincoln West High School has a remote classroom at MetroHealth Medical Center’s Main Campus. The collaboration between the high school and the hospital, which began in 2016, allows students interested in pursuing careers in the medical field to engage with medical professionals throughout the MetroHealth system.

This year, several students from the program will participate in the fair for the first time.

“So, the program is new to the Minority Men’s Health Fair this year,” said Tiffany Short, director of external education and workforce development for MetroHealth.

“The goal is to engage students across Northeast Ohio to experience and have exposure to health care. By way of participating, they’re able to see clinicians and other medical staff interact with patients. So, there’s a shadowing component.”

Roberto Gonzales is one of the students planning to participate. He considers it a chance to have a voice in the community.

“When this opportunity was brought to the table, we were happy to participate in such an important community outreach,” Roberto said between classes at MetroHealth.

“One of our roles in the fair mainly focuses on the under-represented community we’re a part of. I think it’s essential having a voice in the community. That will be accomplished by shadowing the medical professionals participating in the fair and listening.

“I would say that’s probably the students’ biggest role we will represent when we’re there.”