Cleveland Clinic, Local African American Sororities Celebrate MLK Day with Women’s Wellness Event in Fairfax Neighborhood

Cleveland Clinic continues to celebrate the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King in the community.

On Jan. 16, the Cleveland Clinic Langston Hughes Community Health & Education Center hosted a women’s health challenge in collaboration with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.; and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

The free event provided COVID-19/flu vaccines, health screenings, cooking demos, exercise sessions and seminars on brain health, breast cancer, safety and domestic violence, mental health and the importance of diversity in clinical trials.

Over 200 women enjoyed a day of self-care and sisterhood, including 44-year-old Tonya B., of South Euclid, who attended the event with her 20-year-old daughter. Tonya knows all too well the importance of life-saving preventative screenings. In 2005, breast cancer claimed the life of her grandmother. In the years since, she’s also lost two aunts from breast cancer, and currently has two more aunts battling the disease. She was grateful for the opportunity to receive her second mammogram at the women’s health challenge, and encourages every woman, especially those with the highest risk, to get screened.

Tonya’s advice to anyone delaying a mammogram due fear of learning they may have breast cancer: “Faith over fear,” she says. “Research has shown that early detection saves lives.”

More Black women die from breast cancer than any other cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. In addition, African American women are 41% more likely to die from the disease than Caucasian women despite being less likely to be diagnosed with it.

Increasing access to care and services like mammograms in the Fairfax neighborhood, is just one of the ways Cleveland Clinic is addressing healthcare disparities and meeting the needs of its residents. The mammogram clinic at the Langston Hughes Community Health & Education Center is open on the first and third Wednesday, and fifth Saturday of every month. Patients can self-refer at this site, meaning they do not need a referral from their primary care physician (PCP) to schedule a mammogram.

Cleveland Clinic Langston Hughes Community Health & Education Center has become a gathering place for health and wellbeing in the Fairfax neighborhood. The Center focuses on free health education along with primary care services, prevention and wellness programs to help improve community health. For more information or to schedule care call 216.444.2626.