100 Black Men Of Rome Hosts Health Initiative Saturday

The 22nd annual free Health Initiative for Men and Women takes place this Saturday morning at the Floyd County Health Department from 8 a.m. to noon.

This annual event is hosted by the 100 Black Men of Rome and Northwest Georgia and is sponsored by AdventHealth Redmond and Atrium Health Floyd as well as other community partners.

“The goal is to get men and women to take care of their health,” Bonny Askew with 100 Black Men said. “We’ll have food, drinks and prizes. It’s actually a fun day, so bring the whole family.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Northwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. They are working with Atrium Health Floyd to provide some screenings, including mammography.

Free screenings for blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer (FIT kits), cervical cancer (pap smears) and vision and dental screenings will be available.

“The weather is going to be great Saturday,” Askew said. “And as always, everything is free.”

The Atrium Health Floyd Mobile Mammography Unit will also be at the event. To make a mammogram appointment, call 706-509-6840 and choose “option 1.”

Formerly known as HIM, the health fair started as a way to encourage men to get preventative screenings and has been expanded over the years to include women.

“As community based prostate screenings were discouraged, the 100 Black Men of Rome knew that many in our community were especially susceptible to prostate cancer and wanted to ensure that these services remained available,” said Erin Hernandez, president and CEO of the Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition. “Today, as prostate cancer rates are on the rise again, we are fortunate to have had The 100 advocating for screening services in this community all along.”

The event came about when, in 2000, Larry Morrow Sr. and Curtis Adams learned at the 100 Black Men of America’s annual conference that Black men are more likely to develop prostate cancer, less likely to get screened and more likely to die from the disease.

They later contacted Dr. James Crane, a Harbin Clinic urologist, and launched the initiative. Morrow himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011.

“The Annual H.I.M. event may have very well saved my life,” Morrow said. “If I hadn’t participated in the prostate screening, I may have never known I had a cancerous tumor until it was too late. That’s the thing, you have to be proactive rather than reactive. Men don’t always think about that and can be resistant, so we encourage the women in their lives to get them to come get screened.”

Since then, the event has become even more important to members of the community, including the healthcare community. Dan Bevels, Atrium Health Floyd’s director of community health, said this year, the event is personal.

“In 2023, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer — not something I expected at that point in my life. Thankfully, we caught it early and I had a successful treatment and am now cancer free,” Bevels said. “The reason we were able to catch it early is because my primary care physician, Dr. Michelle Strickland, was diligent in making sure I had my regular labs. It’s troubling to think about what could have happened if I had not had those regular tests. I know that men have the reputation of not going to the doctor for check-ups, but I’ll never miss one again and will always encourage other men to do the same. That’s why events like H.I.M. + Women are so important. Come out and take advantage of the opportunity; it could save your life.”

A new featured service this year will be the Toe Truck, a mobile foot clinic for those experiencing homelessness and serving the community’s needs. Services include foot exams, toenail assessment, trimming and debridement of toenails, neuropathic screening, corn and callus paring, and wound care, along with preventive foot care education.

The Toe Truck is owned and operated by Traci Tillery.

“This has been a God-given talent/passion of mine and my husband’s for some time. Being a wound care provider for more than 25 years in Floyd County, I realized the importance of your feet. What better way to serve others,” Tillery said.