Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program Inspires Barber to go to Medical School in Cuba Barber rekindles dream to become physician while screening men for diabetes and high blood pressure in barbershops. Inglewood, California (PRWEB) March 29, 2012 -- Donte Kelly, a local barber, flew from Los Angeles International Airport to Cuba, where he has been enrolled at the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Kelly rekindled his dream of attending medical school by working as the National Barbershop Coordinator of the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program of Los Angeles. Kelly worked side-by-side with Founder Dr. Bill Releford, as well as others, and learned invaluable community organizing skills. A graduate of Grambling State University, Kelly was actually a pre-med student, earning an undergraduate degree in Biology. Several years later, at the age of 30, Kelly saw the real face of health care disparities while serving in the barbershop program. He organized more than 600 barbershops nationwide that screened over 20,000 men for diabetes and high blood pressure. "The Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program provided the perfect platform for me to stay connected and focused on my destiny, to become a medical doctor," Mr. Kelly said. "It was just a matter of timing and finances. I embrace this rare opportunity to attend medical school tuition-free in Cuba. Although Cuba has limited resources, they've been able to produce some of best physicians in the world, and I am honored to have been selected for the 2011 Fall class." "In addition to the national screening efforts, the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program is known for, the initiative has also nurtured and helped to develop organizational, communication as well as leadership skills in African American men around the country," said Dr. Bill Releford, who launched the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program in 2007. Dr. Releford added, "The Black Barbershop family has been able to excavate and, in many instances, resurrect dormant dreams and life's possibilities." Mr. Kelly's admission into the Cuban medical school has enormous implications, as the ranks of black males in U.S. medical schools have declined. For three consecutive years (2005-2007), nearly two-thirds of black medical school applicants were women, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2010, the medical group said that black men accounted for the lowest percentage of medical school graduates from all major racial/ethnic groups. Medical educators and researchers remain uncertain of the causes for disparate application and matriculation rates for black men. The primary causes are believed to include limited exposure to medical professionals (e.g., lack of black mentors), a lack of family and peer support, and financial challenges faced by applicants, the medical group said. "This is a great example of federal stimulus dollars at work," said Keith C. Norris, M.D., executive vice president for Research and Health Affairs at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. "CDU joined with the barbershop program through a grant, and this union has not only enhanced outreach to educate and screen African American men for key health conditions but has inspired a young African American man to go back into the health sciences." He added, "This future doctor will have a needed perspective on the social determinants of health that few are
PRWeb ebooks - Another online visibility tool from PRWeb