Actor Morgan Freeman Urges Men to Take Better Care of Their Health
Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman speaks out to encourage men, particularly those who are poor and underserved, to schedule routine visits to their doctor.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 14, 2004 -- Actor Morgan Freeman is using his voice
to urge men across the country to get regular check-ups and health screenings.
Freeman has recorded five radio public service announcements for the Men's
Health Initiative, a program of the National Center for Primary Care at
Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
Freeman is originally
from the Mississippi Delta. It is there, in Clarksdale, Mississippi that one of
the six Men's Health Initiative learning laboratories is working to help
underserved, uninsured and underinsured men, particularly those of color,
receive quality health care throughout an impoverished four county area.
Statistically, men of color are overall less likely to have health insurance,
less likely to have access to health care and are more likely to receive
inadequate care compared to White men. They are also more likely to die of
illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. These
men are not just numbers or statistics; each is someone’s father, brother or
son. Each is a victim of a health care crisis that has begun to strong-arm
minority men and men of color.
The Initiative began in the summer of
2001 through funding by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It works to inform changes
in policy at the local level by raising awareness and painting a picture of the
plight of poor men and men of color. It also seeks to empower those living in
those communities by urging them to become active participants in helping design
healthcare systems that will suit their needs.
In 2000 the city of
Baltimore opened the country’s first Men's Health Center, providing full-service
primary care to uninsured males between the ages of 19 and 64. The Baltimore and
Clarksdale learning laboratories are joined by labs in Denver, Boston, Miami and
Atlanta.
In 2003 actor Danny Glover participated in the launch of our
first national media campaign. He did a series of public service announcements
for both radio and television to raise awareness of both the crisis in men's
health and in the work being done at our national learning laboratories.
Each learning laboratory in the Men's Health Initiative is working to
close the gap in health disparities among poor men, often the working poor by
providing a means for those who are ineligible for insurance or other
comprehensive health coverage under current private, local and federal systems
with programs through which they receive quality, affordable or free healthcare,
including oral and mental healthcare.
Since the Initiative's inception,
numerous men's health policy briefs and articles have been prepared to foster
learning and to make recommendations for change. The Men's Health Initiative is
supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
To learn more about the Men's
Health Initiative please visit www.communityvoices.org
or contact Community Voices national headquarters at the National Center for
Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine at (404) 756-8914.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb133559.htm