Community Finds Fun, Health Information at UAMS Midsouth Black Expo
| With high school band music and cheerful chatter as a backdrop, Marcovous Williams got some sobering news about her health. A health check at one of the 80 vendor booths at the UA
Mario Settles
MS Midsouth Black Expo revealed that she had high blood pressure.
“I came to get more information about my health,” said Williams, who was among more than 2,500 expo attendees at The Venue at Westwind in North Little Rock. “I need a mammogram, and I was just told I need to see a doctor about my high blood pressure, which I will do ASAP because strokes, high blood pressure and diabetes run in my family. So I’m really glad I came.”
The expo, presented by UAMS, brought together a community of entertainers, health institutions, businesses and other organizations. It included 80 vendors, cultural and historical exhibits, food, giveaways and live music, including Rodney Black, the St. Mark Choir and a Marching Band Festival.
Cancer survivor Mario Settles helped kick off the event as part of a panel of business owners presenting The Black Entrepreneur’s Journey. For Settles, a lymphoma diagnosis at age 32 was life changing. Now 34 and in remission after two years of treatment, the owner of TrukPLEASE advises aspiring entrepreneurs to go for it. “What are you waiting for?” he said during the panel discussion.
“When you’re 32, you feel like you have all the time in the world, whereas, when you’re diagnosed with cancer, you realize that you don’t have all the time in the world,” he said.
UAMS’ Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., and Crystal Smith with the UAMS MammoVan.
The UAMS MammoVan mobile mammography unit was also on site to provide mammograms to screen for breast cancer.
UAMS’ Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., said having the MammoVan at the expo made it convenient for women to be screened.
“At events like today where we have a large community of people, African-American women and others, it’s so important for us to be here to talk about the importance of early detection of breast cancer using screening mammography,” said Bryant-Smith, chief of the Division of Breast Imaging at UAMS and director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Breast Center and Mobile Mammography Program. “We know that finding cancers when they are smaller increases overall survival rates, so we really want to educate the community and provide opportunities for screening mammography.”
During the Ask a Black Doctor panel discussion, UAMS’ Karen Crowell, M.D., urged the audience to use the available health resources in the community.
“Put the effort into you. You’re worth it,” said Crowell, a contractor for the College of Medicine Department of Surgery, and a physician educator and clinical coordinator for the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. “Treat your body well; feed your body well. You were not meant to sit still. Exercise as medicine can take you a lot further than the multiple pills that people are taking. There are also diseases that we can help prevent, and we can save lives through early diagnosis and treatment.”
UAMS’ Karen Crowell, M.D. (right), and Crystal Croswell helped attendees sign up for yearly at-home colorectal screening tests.
Theresa Timmons, one of the expo’s leading organizers, said the free event has been a great way to communicate the importance of good health so that people can pursue their dreams.
“One of the primary purposes is to take care of ourselves through health screenings,” she said. “And what an amazing way to do that with the support, partnership and the sponsorship of UAMS, which is providing those services free of charge for people who otherwise may not be able to go to the doctor.”