DECEMBER 2021 HEALTH WELLNESS & NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT
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Dr. Shantella Sherman WI Special Editions Editor The only constant thing in life, is change. Yet, many of us have not only willfully resisted change, but taken on hazardous behaviors that render us stagnant and ineffective as the world around us continues to evolve. The short of it, we have become self-saboteurs to our own happiness and not social equality, financial windfalls, the Age of Aquarius, or a writ of Congress will amend it. We are the saviors, the help, the aid, we are seeking. While we live our lives decked out in the masks of the day – not the COVID-19 barriers, mind you, but the masks Paul Lawrence Dunbar so eloquently pointed out in 1896. The mask that “grins and lies, [that] hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” and keeps others from witnessing our “torn and bleeding hearts.” Those bloody masks have become such a fashion to Black women that they come as easily-coordinated accessories of the “Superwoman” capes that keep us sick, tired, and frustrated. African American women, according to re-
Burning Superwoman’s Cape searchers studying the “superwoman schema,” often face mental and emotional messaging that present as strongholds negatively impacting their overall health and well-being. Professor Cheryl Giscombé, in the paper “Superwoman Schema: African American Women’s Views on Stress, Strength, and Health” in The journal Qualitative Health, that Black women faced: a perceived obligation to present an image of strength, a perceived obligation to suppress emotions, a perceived obligation to resist help or to resist being vulnerable to others, motivation to succeed despite limited resources; and need to prioritize the caregiving of others over themselves. These perceptions create a reality in which Black women put everyone else before themselves – and feel guilty for taking “Me Time” to simply relax, rejuvenate, or simply, do nothing. In full transparency, this has been an issue I struggled with until 2010, when it suddenly occurred to me that making other people happy depleted me to a point of fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, and sadness. I remember saying once, “People will bleed you dry and then curse you out for not having more to give.” Giving or lending money was not an issue, giving my ear to other people’s problems, giving my time to other people’s causes, giving my sleep time over to help with someone’s (fill in the blank”, all added up to me having little time for exercise, sleep, preparing meals, or just taking stock in my own life. Still, I persisted in putting others first. The year I turned forty I decided to travel to London, alone. I turned off the phone, I shut down the social media pages, and I took full advantage of being fully and utterly alone with God. I found that I liked myself. I was pretty cool to hang out with and made for good company all by myself. I made friends, took long walks, gathered my thoughts, culled my emotions, and then vowed to capture the beauty of my newfound unfettered happiness as practice. Returning to the States, I occasionally fell back into putting others first to my detriment. Only now, I recognized when enough was enough, and found it easier ignore phone calls, place people and situations in a mental “time out,” and to simply tell people, “No.” With COVID-19 lock-in many bad habits kicked back in, but since August, I recommitted to bedtime no later than 10pm, no sugar, caffeine, or snacks, increased water intake, and a vigorous, uphill walk every morning. Weight loss was never a particular goal, though my body absolutely feels the benefit of the improved habits. More importantly, my mental, spiritual, and physical lives have once again aligned, so I am happier and more productive than I have been in years. This Washington Informer supplement, New Year, New You encourages you to take that superwoman (superman) cape off and burn it! I mean, bonfire that thing so that there is no possibility of even a fragment surviving the flames! Informer staff writers have spoken with naturopaths, like Dr. Andrea Sullivan and everyday people who offer sound and fun ways of improving your overall health and happiness into the new year and for the rest of your lives. We are the help we’ve sought – and it does not come with an “S” on its chest. Cheers to a better You! Dr. Shantella Sherman
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Lifeguard Your Child Dr. Sophia Sparks WI Staff Writer At the age of 10, I attended my first funeral. It was for a drowning victim -- my mother’s best friend’s son. We were the same age. This experience led to my decision to teach my child(ren) how to swim at an early age. Drowning is a common cause of death for children among African American little ones and is often fast and silent – occurring in as little as 20-60 seconds. I enrolled my child in swim classes at the age of 1-year-old and did not want to take her back after the first lesson. The process was terrifying. My child was briefly submerged underwater. I was not mentally prepared for that visual image. However, I was determined that she would not become a part of the annual statistics posted on the Water Safety USA website of the more than 4,000 preventable drowning deaths. Four weeks into her lessons, her grandmother attended a swim class. Although grandma had viewed pieces of the lesson on video, she was ill-prepared as well. My mother yelled at the instructor, almost jumped into the pool to retrieve her grandchild, and eventually left the lesson. Still, the recollection of that first funeral, steadied by resolve to keep my daughter in the class. She did matriculate quickly – using her natural instincts to turn over from face-down positions and kick her way to safety. Not only did she move quickly through the classes,
but also graduated survival swim. At the conclusion of the lessons, my child has controlled breathing, and can float. Individuals who know how to swim are not drown proof. Supervision of a young child is still necessary as swimming is one tool in the prevention of drowning. Assumptions should never be made that a child’s swimming abilities will get them out of every situation; however, these water safety abilities extend beyond the swimming pool. One hundred children drown in bathtubs every year in less than two inches of water. A 2020 study from USA Swimming Foundation found that 64 percent of African American children cannot swim. But the rumored roadblock to African Americans being able to swim is not fear – but access. According to Kevin Dawson, Professor of History at the University of California Merced, and author of Undercurrents of Power, Africans believed water was a spiritual place and by immersing one’s body in water, by swimming, Black people made connections with deities and to ancestral spirits in that water. “Prior to the 1880s, most Black people were much stronger swimmers than white people. And slave owners actually began to target Africans with diving skills and brought them to the Americas where they served as pearl divers. They dove to salvage shipwrecks,” Dawson writes. “While enslavers were forcing enslaved people to do this, enslaved Africans were still
recreating African aquatic traditions.” Through a lack of access to common lakes, pools, and recreation centers during Jim Crow, many African Americans loss the love of swimming. Swimming is fun and has many health benefits. Respect the water and learn water safety skills such as swimming. If unsettled about enrolling your child in swim lessons, consider parent-child water play classes. Be prepared and provide your family with tools that will assist in drowning prevention. Become more comfortable in the water with swim lessons. Learn now and be ready to take that dip into a pool and swim in a local lake. The D.C. metropolitan area has many places to empower survival swimming and beyond.
District of Columbia Brookland Swim Academy Trinity Washington University 125 Michigan Ave NE, DC Starts at 3 months Brooklandswimacademy.com YMCA Anthony Bowen 1325 W Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-232-6936 Many DC pools that offer swim lessons are currently under construction such as: Ferebee Aquatic Center and Takoma Aquatic Center Maryland YMCA Silver Spring 9800 Hastings Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20901 (301) 585-2120
Virginia YMCA Alexandria 420 East Monroe Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301 (703) 838-8085 Swim Box 51838 Lee Hwy, Arlington, VA Develop swimming skills – must know how to swim Theswimbox.com 703-904-6340 Big Blue Swim School 6112-A Arlington Blvd Falls Church, VA Starts as early as 6 months 847-729-7665 Bigblueswimschool.com
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Gratitude as Stress Management Submitted by AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia The holidays are coming, and with them can come challenges and stress. It can be hard to get around in wintry weather, afford gifts, and get enough time with friends and family. Along with these struggles, though, the holiday season can bring comforts. You may find a little warmth in the winter by noticing the good things and people in your life. And it turns out that this awareness could be quite healthy.
GRATITUDE: A HEALTHY HABIT
Studies suggest that appreciating what’s going well for you may
enhance your well-being. Taking a little time to feel gratitude each day may:1 • Boost your emotional health by helping you cope with stress • Help your body’s health, such as by lowering your chance of heart disease Making gratitude a daily habit may remind you of the good things in your life even when bad things are happening. It can help to remember that even though you have some challenges, other things are going your way.1
TAKE A DAILY 10
Here’s a way to make gratitude a regular part of your life:1 • Take 10 minutes each day for a gratitude practice. You can try it first thing in the morning or right before you sleep. • Think about the parts of your life that make you smile or feel a bit lighter. They can be little things, like enjoying
a cup of hot coffee. Or they can be more impactful, like getting quality time with your family.
• Give yourself a few moments to just remember these positive experiences. What took place? How did it feel?
Let yourself fully enjoy the memories. • Write the experiences down in a journal. Later, if you’re feeling blue, re-read some of your journal entries. • Let someone know. If you feel grateful for someone, you might tell them. Odds are, they’ll be grateful to hear it! Sources: 1. “Practicing Gratitude,” National Institutes of Health, https:// newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/03/ practicing-gratitude. 2. “Mindfulness Matters,” National Institutes of Health, https:// newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/01/ mindfulness-matters. All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only. Any individual depicted is a model
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#BestMe Corner
Mindfulness for More Calm Ever hear someone say they’re going out of their mind with stress? What if there were a way to do the opposite — to become more mind-full for calm? Mindfulness is a practice for centering on the present. Instead of following our minds on the wild rides of thinking about past troubles and future worries, we just focus on present awareness. We notice the sights, sounds, and all that we’re aware of around us. We notice our thoughts and feelings, too. And we just keep letting these thoughts and experiences go, and letting life unfold moment to moment. We don’t judge any of it.2 Living mindfully means letting go of living on autopilot. We become more aware — of our breath, our feet on the ground, our hands moving, and events around us. Studies suggest that mindfulness practices may help people:2 • Manage stress • Cope with serious illness
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• Boost memory, learning, and emotion • Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression • Lose weight
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The information in this article is to help you learn more about this topic. It is not to take the place of your health care provider. If you have questions, talk with your health care provider. If you think you need to see your health care provider because of something you have read in this information, please contact your health care provider. Never stop or wait to get medical attention because of something you have read in this material.
• Breathe deeply. Count to four as you breathe in through your nose. Hold your breath for one second. Then count to five as you exhale through the mouth. • Take a walk and notice the sights and sounds around you. Note any thoughts you have, but then just let the thoughts go and return to observing. • Eat mindfully. Notice the fragrance of your food and drinks. Be aware of the taste, textures, and flavors in each bite. Listen to your body tell you when you’re hungry and when you’re full. Everyone can use emotional support at some time in their lives. For AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia (DC) enrollees age 13 and older, this support can be right at your fingertips: • Enrollees ages 13 – 20 can access MindRight. MindRight is a network of coaches trained to help youth navigate the stress and other challenges of daily life. • Enrollees ages 21 and older can access the Ginger Emotional Support app. Through the app, enrollees can
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5 Ways to Help Keep Your Immunity Strong Elaine Magee, MPH, RD Safeway Corporate Dietitian You may have heard more about “immunity” these past couple of years than you have your entire life, as we have been navigating our way through the pandemic. To help everyone keep their immunity strong in the months ahead, let’s highlight 5 easy ways that you can do just that! Nutrition plays a major role in how the immune system functions and you can support your immune system by including foods daily that contribute these immune-boosting nutrients.
There are a handful of vitamins related to immunity but the top three are Vitamins C, E and B6. And there are at least three minerals we all should be getting on the daily to help keep our immunity strong; Selenium, Zinc and Copper. Including more plant foods will help you get most of these vitamins and minerals plus it will automatically help you get more of the many phytonutrients (plant compounds) that also help support the immune system like polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, phytoestrogens, just to name a few! So, with all of this in mind and more, here are 5 Ways to Help Keep Your Immunity Strong in the months ahead:
#1—MAKE HALF OF YOUR PLATE FRUITS AND VEGGIES!
half of your plate is represented by veggies and fruit. • If you are having eggs for breakfast, add lots of veggies. • If you are having oatmeal, yogurt or chia pudding for breakfast, make sure you include plenty of fruit. • If you are having a sandwich for lunch, fill half of it with veggies or have them on the side as raw veggies to munch on or as a nice big salad. • If you are making a pasta dish for dinner, be sure to fill half your plate with broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus or enjoy a dark green leafy salad. • If you are enjoying a couple small slices of pizza, top your pizza with veggies and be sure to include a dark green leafy salad or raw veg-
gies to munch on like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery.
#2—MAKE ALL OF YOUR GRAINS AND GRAIN PRODUCTS WHOLE GRAINS WHENEVER POSSIBLE! Choose whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta. Choose brown rice, barley, and quinoa, for example, instead of white rice and processed grains. Choose 100% whole wheat bread, tortillas, and buns, instead of refined flour products.
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we are helping to create a diverse microbiome. When eating more fiber-rich Use mostly whole wheat flour in foods, it’s super important to do your baking and cooking. two things: drink plenty of water because fiber needs water to work #3— WHEN IT COMES its’ magic (soluble fiber in particular TO YOUR PROTEIN binds with water to form a gel), and gradually increase fiber to give your ROUTINE, GET gastro-intestinal tract time to adjust!
PROTEIN FROM A VARIETY OF FOODS
• Include seafood when possible a couple of times a week. Tuna in a can or pouch counts! Salmon is a great way to get quality protein plus smart fats and fat soluble vitamins. • Look for fun ways to include high protein plant foods like beans/ legumes/tofu/edamame, in addition to or instead of meat, several times a week. • Enjoy a handful of nuts every day instead of snacking on chips and candy. • Peanuts are the nut with the most protein! Choose natural-style peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) and spread it on whole grain breads, serve it with celery, or stir it into oatmeal or smoothie bowls.
#4—A HEALTHY GUT IS CRITICAL FOR A HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM Basically, we want to feed the good bacteria in our gut and guess what they love? FIBER, especially soluble fiber! Here’s our problem…the typical Western way of eating (high in fat and sugar and low in fiber) isn’t doing a good job of this. The second thing we want to remember about a healthy gut is that it’s best to have a diverse gut microbiome because each strain of bacteria is responsible for something different. By eating healthy (including lots of plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole-intact grains, legumes and nuts/seeds), and exercising regularly,
Immunity refers to the body’s ability to resist infection and disease. The immune system is a network of cells, tissues and organs in your body that help protect against infection and disease.
Here are Some Soluble Fiber Rich Foods Whole Grains: Oats, barley Fruits: Apples, nectarines, apricots, avocado, passion fruit, guava, pears, orange, pink grapefruit, figs Vegetables: Carrots, parsnips, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, sweet potatoes, turnips Beans & Legumes: Navy beans, refried beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, French beans, split green peas, pinto beans, black beans, mung beans Nuts & Seeds: Flax seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts
70 of our immune cells live in our gut and research links many diseases to the integrity of our gut lining and gut bacteria. Gut Microbiome is a delicate balance of friendly and harmful micro-organisms. Many of these trillions of microbiome microbes live in your small and large intestines. It is unique to you, similar to a fingerprint, and it plays a critical role in our health and immunity.
#5—LIFESTYLE HABITS IMPORTANT FOR IMMUNITY There are things that we can do, beyond our food choices, that can also help keep our immunity strong. • Sleep and De-stress: Adults should strive for 7-9 hours of sleep a night. To help you do this, put your phone away an hour before bedtime if possible and de-stress by asking yourself “how can I infuse some JOY into my day?” and then work on making that happen! • Exercise: Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week! • Quit Smoking: Quit smoking of you do smoke and if you don’t smoke, don’t start! • Limit Alcohol: Limit alcohol intake, avoid binge drinking, and if you don’t already drink alcohol, consider keeping it that way.
Basically, we want to feed the good bacteria in our gut and guess what they love? FIBER, especially soluble fiber!
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When Enough is Enough
Naturopath Andrea Sullivan Offers Small Steps to Improved Health
diabetic ulcers. So it wasn’t that she died because of slavery, although certainly her childhood and her life were horrific. And so, we are following in her footsteps, though we don’t need to do that anymore. All of the conditions that are clearly not exotic conditions that I wrote about in my first book like diabetes and hypertension, are not foreign conditions that are specific to “negroes,” as they used to say. These are conditions that are from poor lifestyles, and part of that is the way we feel about ourselves and the way we treat ourselves. That has to stop.
Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer No better time exists for the release of naturopath Andrea Sullivan’s latest book, Enough. An intricate exploration of both negative health consequences Black women face from caring for everyone – but themselves, and holistic solutions to chronic conditions, Enough, is the quintessential guide to a better you – mind, body, and spirit. Sullivan sat down with The Informer to discuss the small steps we can take today to kickstart a healthier 2022. WI: Dr. Sullivan, why this book, and why now? AS: African American women are dying younger, and faster than other women. We don’t get breast cancer more than Caucasian women, but we die more from it. Certainly, there are many reasons for that, including poor health care or we don’t trust the doctors, but it’s also because we don’t take time to get checked out. Why? Because we’re so busy taking care of someone else. This has been our history; it’s been our legacy, and it is what we pride ourselves on. I take it back of course to slavery because I think much of what we’ve learned came from that period of time, and we still pass it on unfortunately,
and the unworthiness that we chose as a narrative based on how we were treated, which makes sense. At some point we have to move out of that because that’s just no longer essential. We are all children of God; God is in us. Any God you want to pray to is in us, whether it’s Buddha, whether it’s Jehovah, whether it’s Christ, whatever it is. We are a part of that energy. And just knowing that
gives you a birthright of abundance and joy, and excellent health. My first degree is in sociology and criminology, and so I took it all the way back to the Sojourner syndrome which is a concept in sociology that speaks to Sojourner Truth and how she had as her mission, taking care of the community. And while she died later in life, she died from untreated
WI: Do you find that there is some intersectionality between all of the things you learned and studied in Sociology and Criminology and the health outcomes of your patients? AS: Absolutely, I’m following three women in the book who all have taken care of grandchildren, children, husband’s children that they didn’t know they had when they got married, I mean just every kind of child you want to think of, and not themselves. And this is how they have diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. That, for me, tells me that there is a huge gap in the awareness of, “I deserve to be well, I deserve to be taken care of, I deserve to have what I want to have. I deserve
Recent & Recommended Books on Taking Small Steps to a Better You By Lee Ross WI Staff Writer
ization in order to access effective mental health care.
The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health By Rheeda Walker An unapologetic exploration of the Black mental health crisis—and a comprehensive road map to getting the care you deserve in an unequal system. We can’t deny it any longer: there is a Black mental health crisis in our world today. Black people die at disproportionately high rates due to chronic illness, suffer from poverty, under-education, and the effects of racism. This book is an exploration of Black mental health in today’s world, the forces that have undermined mental health progress for African Americans, and what needs to happen for African Americans to heal psychological distress, find community, and undo years of stigma and marginal-
Tapping the Power Within: A Path to Self-Empowerment for Women: 20th Anniversary Edition By Iyanla Vanzant The revised and expanded 20th-anniversary edition of Iyanla Vanzant’s first published work offers a powerful path to self-empowerment through the revitalization of one’s spiritual and ancestral roots. Written with Iyanla’s signature healing stories, this classic guide to uniting the will with the spirit teaches that only you have the power to make a change for the better. With chapters on basic breathing and meditation techniques, setting up a home altar, connecting with ancestors and guardian spirits, and the extraordinary power of forgiveness, this book is a perfect companion on the way toward
the real you. Whether you are a beginner on the path or a veteran in need of refreshment, Iyanla’s prescriptions can support your growth from the comfort of spiritual adolescence to the wisdom of spiritual maturity. Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person By Shonda Rhimes This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before her Year of Yes— from her nerdy, book-loving childhood creating imaginary friends to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her. This wildly candid and compulsively readable book reveals how the mega talented Shonda Rhimes, an unexpected introvert, achieved badassery worthy of a Shondaland character. And how you can, too.
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - Clean Edition By David Goggins For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. In Can’t Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40 percent of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40-Percent Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential. HS
to have life in its fullness, not just life suffering.” Many women have childhood wounds and have faced abuse -whether it’s sexual, physical, mental, or emotional, and all of that continues to follow us. And then we have the ways in which we’ve been depicted in the world, whether it’s Mammy or Jezebel, or whatever the other derogatory names are for African American women. All of that affects us. It affects our basic cells, and it affects our psyches. It affects everything we do as a result of that narrative. WI: So many of us abandon our health due to trauma. What is the holistic approach to helping the mind and body align for healing? AS: I’m going to put it into a word - Homeopathy. Homeopathy is, in my humble opinion, the quintessential medicine. Because it affects your mind, your body, and your spirit. That’s what it does. Somehow, we don’t know how, each person as a result of their trauma or result of their childhood, or something, has taken on the spirit of something else in order to survive. The body always wants to live, it doesn’t want to die any more than you do consciously, so it takes on the energy of something else. We’re struggling with a lack of sleep, lack of water, and lack of time spent inside. WI: Can you share how stress, grief, and neglect promote negative physical outcomes? AS: There’s a chapter on stress in the book that explains that when we’re under stress or grief there are certain hormones that get administered or released, and those hormones affect our blood sugar, our blood pressure, and they affect our mood and our temperament, and other hormones. So, stress is really like having a tiger in a tree all the time that keeps you constantly on alert. This increases your blood pressure, because your blood is pumping harder, your heart is pumping harder, your vessels, arteries, veins, are getting smaller, and that same amount of blood is trying to get through the same, or a smaller space and increases your pressure. Your body readies for “fight or flight,” so you’ll be able to run. And there’s another set of hormones that decreases or increases your blood sugar. So, we have all of those hormones that are affecting and creating two of the biggest dis(eases) that African Americans suffer from -- diabetes and hypertension. HS
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“Me-time” Under-utilized
Get Covered. Stay Covered.
Lee Ross WI Staff Writer People in America know self-care, but not many prioritize it... Here are a few statistics, by the numbers, to help you understand how important it is for you to take time out for yourself, first!
The term self-care is universally familiar to almost all people, as 98 percent have heard the word. But fewer than two in five (35 percent) people are consistently and routinely making the time to practice self-care. The majority (62 percent) are approaching self-care in a more sporadic fashion, such as trying to make time whenever they can or doing so once in a blue moon.
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Almost half of city/urban dwellers agree they rarely have time to care for themselves (45 percent). This is more than those living in the suburbs (36 percent) or those living in small town/ rural areas (39 percent) who feel the same. Those who are single are more likely to regularly make time for self-care than those who are married or in a relationship (42 percent vs. 30 percent).
More men than women say they consistently make time for self-care (39 percent vs. 32 percent).
Men are more likely than women to let work (38 percent vs. 25 percent) or social engagements (22 percent vs. 12 percent) get in the way of self-care. Two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans say they put others ahead of themselves. Work (31
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percent), caring for their family members (28 percent), commitments like volunteering or studying (22 percent), and social engagements (17 percent) are some of the responsibilities that stand in the way of “me time.”
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A Guide to HIV Prevention for the Modern Decade By Whitman-Walker Health
December 1st marked the annual, international recognition of World AIDS Day – a day dedicated to remembering loved ones lost to HIV/ AIDS, and to uplifting their names and memories. It also comes during the 40th anniversary of the first CDC report identifying what would later be known as HIV/AIDS. This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “End inequalities. End AIDS.” To end inequalities in HIV, we must increase education about what HIV testing, treatment and prevention look like. Today in 2021, HIV is a manageable chronic disease and is more preventable than ever before! From getting tested and knowing your status, to preventative options like PrEP and PEP, here are a few options to consider adding to your HIV prevention toolkit! Get Tested. Getting tested for HIV and STIs is the first step in anyone’s HIV prevention journey. Depending on a person’s sexual health practices and activity, getting tested every 3-6
months can go a long way in preventing HIV and STIs. Untreated STIs make it easier to become positive after an exposure to HIV, so it is important to get tested. Learn about Whitman-Walker Health’s testing hours and locations at www.whitman-walker.org/testing. HIV and STI testing are available by appointment at the below locations. Call 202.797.4439 to schedule a testing appointment and be sure to check our website for the most up-to-date hours! • Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE • Whitman-Walker Health at 1525 14th Street NW If you receive a negative HIV test result, ask about PrEP. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a daily pill that can prevent HIV. According to the CDC, when taken every day, this pill can prevent a person’s chance of HIV infection that is transmitted through sex by about 99 percent and can prevent HIV that is transmitted through injection drug use by about 74 percent. Learn more about PrEP and
decide if it’s the right HIV prevention tool for you! Contact Whitman-Walker’s PrEP team at 202.939.7690 or prepclinic@whitman-walker.org. Living in the DMV? Access PrEP in DC and find a service location near you. Visit www.sexualbeing.org. Maryland residents can access PrEP by visiting www.marylandhealthconnection.gov. Finally, Virginia residents can access PrEP by visiting www.vdh. virginia.gov. PrEP may be a good HIV prevention tool for you if you… • Have been diagnosed with an STI in the last 6 months. • Are sexually active and don’t always use external or insertive condoms. • Are unsure of your sex partner’s HIV status. • Are HIV-negative and are sexually active, or have a sex partner who is living with HIV. • Identify as someone who injects drugs or are having sex with partner(s) who inject drugs. If you are HIV-negative and think you have been exposed to
GET YOUR COVID-19 VACCINE WITH US! Ask ANY questions you have about the vaccine. Our Whitman-Walker Health care team is here to help.
Vaccines are available each week at our Max Robinson Center on the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE and Chicago Street, SE. Please remember to wear a mask that covers both your nose and mouth. Call 202.207.2480 to get your questions answered and to schedule your FREE vaccine appointment. Whitman-Walker at 1525 1525 14th Street, NW www.whitman-walker.org
Max Robinson Center 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr Ave, SE
4 Whitman-Walker Health’s Max Robinson Center in historic Anacostia in southeast Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of Whitman-Walker Health. 6 Whitman-Walker Health’s mobile HIV/STI testing van parked during a community outreach event. Photo courtesy of Whitman-Walker Health. 6 Whitman-Walker’s Community Health team conducting outdoor HIV/ STI testing at Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center during summer 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic in historic Anacostia, SE Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of Whitman-Walker Health.
HIV, ask for PEP. PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, is a 28-day course of medication that can prevent HIV after a possible exposure. PEP is most effective when started within 72 hours of an HIV exposure. PEP is for emergency use and is available at Whitman-Walker. To access PEP with Whitman-Walker, call our PEP line at 202.797.4439 for support through our Logan Circle or Anacostia health centers. PEP is also available at all emergency rooms. Whether exposed to HIV through consensual or non-consensual sex, or sharing needles and works, it is important to seek PEP within 72 hours of exposure to HIV for it to be effective at preventing HIV. DC residents can access PEP by visiting www.sexualbeing.org. Maryland residents can access PEP by visiting www.marylandhealthconnection.gov. Virginia residents can access PEP by visiting www.vdh.virginia.gov. If you receive a positive HIV test result or are living with HIV, start treatment for HIV. Talk with your medical provider about your treatment options. When a person is living with HIV, they can manage their HIV by taking their HIV treatment as prescribed. By being on treatment, you decrease the risk of passing HIV on to someone else. This is known as “Treatment as Prevention.” People living with HIV who take their treatment as prescribed can achieve an undetectable viral load. An undetectable viral load means there is effectively no risk of a person transmitting HIV sexually to another person.
This is known as “U Equals U” or Undetectable = Untransmittable. Missing treatment puts a person at risk of regaining a detectable viral load, so it is important to take HIV treatment as prescribed. Start treatment. To start treatment, call Whitman-Walker at 202.797.4437 and say “Red Carpet” to our team member. They will support you in getting an appointment at either Whitman-Walker’s Logan Circle or Anacostia health centers. You can also call us at 202.745.7000 or email us at appointments@whitman-walker.org to schedule an appointment. Just mention “Red Carpet” and our team can help a person start treatment for HIV. If your community or organization is interested in the Whitman-Walker providing mobile health services in your neighborhood, contact kjcontreras@whitman-walker.org! Access PrEP, PEP or start treatment for HIV with Whitman-Walker Health at Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE or Whitman-Walker at 1525 14th Street, NW.
www.washingtoninformer.com / DECEMBER 2021 HEALTH WELLNESS & NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT
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SAVE THE DATE
MAX ROBINSON CENTER
IS MOVING C O M E S E E U S AT S T. E L I Z A B E T H S C A M P U S I N 2 0 2 3 !
Whitman-Walker Services Available at St. Elizabeths’ East Campus will include: Primary Medical Care | Pharmacy Services | Dental Services Behavioral Health (Psychiatry, Mental Health & Substance Use Treatment) | Advocacy HIV/STI Screening and Treatment | Community Health and Wellness | Youth Services Legal Services and Public Insurance Navigation | Research | Health Care Education Learn more about Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center move at whitmanwalkerimpact.org/stelizabeths.
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