Minority Health Month observance kicks off with 5K run/walk and health fair on Saturday

STEUBENVILLE -- "Taking Charge of My Health and Well-being" is this year's theme for Minority Health Month in April which kicks off Saturday with the "Stop the Violence, Start the Healing" 5K Walk-Run and Health Fair.

The setting for this is 115 S. Third St., Steubenville, outside the Steubenville Municipal Building with the health fair starting at 11 a.m and continuing until 2 p.m. Opening ceremonies for the 5K will be held at noon and include the participation of Mayor Jerry Barilla, First Ward Councilwoman Asantewa Anyabwile and representatives from the Steubenville NAACP Health Committee, according to Cynthia Lytle, director of community engagement and development

The municipal building is the starting and ending point for the run/walk, which will feature a balloon release/memorial, "an important piece of the opening ceremony," Lytle noted.

Participants will have an opportunity to enter for a chance to win one of the 5K drawing prizes. Registration remains open for this event through https://5kwalkrun2023.Eventbrite.com.

"This event provides our community with an opportunity to not only address the issue of violent crimes but to educate our community on the growing concern of violence as a minority health disparity," Lytle explained.

"Each mile is dedicated to victims of violent crimes, and mile markers along the route will display the names of community loved ones lost to violence," she noted, adding that the 5K promotes wellness and encourages family and community exercise.

The health fair will include local health agencies, providing health information, blood pressure screenings and giveaways.

Lytle noted that Neighborhood Community Development Center of Urban Mission Ministries is offering six events and activities that are part of the month's observance. The others are:

– "Dance for Life Workshop: Hybrid Edition Part 2," April 14, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center at 905 Market St., Steubenville.

"The Dance for Life Workshop was created to introduce different styles of dance as a form of exercise," Lytle explained. It will feature the Steubenville Line Dancers, a local community line dance group under the direction of Anyabwile along with other local fitness and dance instructors. Registration is open for the workshop online through Eventbrite.

– "Holistic and Natural Health Day," April 15, Urban Mission War Memorial Building; 423 North St., Steubenville.

This event will be held in partnership with LaBelle Neighbors Who Care and the Jefferson County General Health District to provide participants with access to a variety of natural health workshops, information and activities to include yoga, free massages, free smoothies and guest presenters.

– "Men's Health Breakfast"; April 22, 9 a.m. to noon, Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church, 708 N. Fifth St., Steubenville.

The breakfast serves as a precursor for the men's free prostate screening and is designed to encourage and promote healthier eating habits among minority males. The event will feature guest speaker Dr. Triston Smith, interventional cardiology, Trinity Health System.

– "Men's Free Prostate Screening," April 25, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tony Teramana Cancer Center, 3204 Johnson Road, Steubenville.

This event is made possible through a partnership with the Tony Teramana Cancer Center, local urologists and the Women in Action Against Cancer Coalition of Jefferson County.

"The staff of the Tony Teramana Cancer Center aide us in scheduling patients for screenings, and Women in Action Against Cancer Coalition of Jefferson County funds the event each year, which enables us to make this a free event for our participants," Lytle explained.

Men must pre-register for screenings by calling Barb Steitz, patient navigator for the Tony Teramana Cancer Center, at (740) 264-8207. The deadline to register is April 18, and participants will be seen by appointment only.

– "Women's Mammogram Screening," April 28, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Urban Mission Pantry parking lot, 311 N. Sixth St., Steubenville.

In partnership with the Tiffany Breast Care Center of Mahoning County, the Northern Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Project of Fulton County, Buckeye Health Plan and the Diversity Health Initiative of Steubenville, this event will make a mobile screening unit available for women ages 40-64 for breast cancer screenings and diagnostic services and for women ages 25-39 who have a physician's report abnormality or other factor.

Participants must be Ohio residents and must call Dr. Vanessa Palmer, founder and operator of DHI, to pre-register for this event at (740) 535-6033.

Lytle offered insight on how this year's Minority Health Month theme was chosen.

"After wrapping up the 2022 Local Conversations Health Equity Series this past December, the Neighborhood Community Development Center of the Urban Mission saw it fitting to carry much of the conversation into our 2023 Minority Health Month activities, continuing to provide education and information on health disparities such as breast and prostate cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease," she noted. "We understand the importance of continuously connecting our community to health resources and information, making it possible for them to truly take charge of their own health and well-being."

Minority Health Month was created in 1989 to be a 30-day, high-visibility, health promotion and disease prevention campaign, according to Lytle. Conducted with and by community-based agencies and organizations, this celebration reaches into urban, suburban and rural areas of the state. In 2000, Minority Health Month became a national celebration. Its goals are to:

– Provide crucial information to allow individuals to practice disease prevention;

– Promote healthy lifestyles;

– Showcase the providers of grassroots health care resources and information;

– Highlight the disparate health conditions between Ohio's minority and nonminority populations and;

– Gain additional support for ongoing efforts to improve minority health year-round.

"As a community, we must learn to take health promotion and disease prevention seriously," Lytle noted, describing Minority Health Month as an opportunity for people to take advantage of free health services and receive valuable information that can change and possibly save lives.

"We work closely with local health care professionals to discuss the why's and how's of various health disparities, and we really want members of our community to take advantage of the free services and information being provided," she said. "We have a great network of hospitals, doctors, health care providers and agencies in this valley that are ready and waiting to take care of you and show you how you can take care of yourself."

Committee members involved in the month's activities are: Sandi Rue, NDCD chairman and Dance for Life Workshop facilitator; Sharon Kirtdoll, men's prostate screening coordinator; Larry Hawkins, men's health breakfast facilitator; Palmer, women's mammogram screening coordinator and director of Diversity Health Initiative; Anyabwile, holistic and natural health day coordinator; Iris Wilson, 5K walk/run opening ceremony facilitator; Juanita Slappy, 5K balloon release and memorial ceremony; Awtihana Smith, 5K health fair coordinator; and Jalil Harvey, Minority Health Month marketing and publicity.

Minority Health Month activities are funded by the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, along with local sponsorships and support.