Press Releases: Georgia
February 8, 2005
African Americans Urged to Take Charge of Their Health in New Kaiser Permanente Video and Guidebook
Knowing your family medical history, being aware of your numbers, leading an active lifestyle, eating healthfully and establishing a regular relationship with your health care provider are the five key messages that Kaiser Permanente is getting out to the local African-American community.
Through a new videotape and guidebook, Kaiser Permanente hopes to encourage African-Americans to establish standard partnerships with their primary care doctors and to manage and minimize the health risks that are unique to those of African-American ethnicity.
Kaiser Permanente’s "African-American Family Health Project" kicked off in conjunction with National Black History Month in February with broadcasts of a 28-minute video in five media markets — Washington, D.C., Baltimore, San Francisco-Oakland, Cleveland and Atlanta. Locally, the video will air on WGCL/CBS 46 TV on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005, at noon.
Kaiser Permanente is a corporate sponsor of the video in conjunction with the African-American Health Project, the latter of which is a partnership among Kaiser Permanente, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Institute of Church Administration and Management. The ICAM is a leadership organization for African-American churches.
"Producing this video and guidebook is the first of many initiatives that Kaiser Permanente is spearheading to promote greater and equal health for people of all colors and backgrounds," said Adrienne D. Mims, MD, chief of prevention, health promotion and research for Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. "From medical research and studies conducted over the years, we know that African-Americans have a higher burden of disease and health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart failure and stroke, when compared to other ethnic groups."
For example, black men face the highest incidence and death rate from prostate cancer in America. Also, studies show that more black women die from breast cancer than do white women because of later diagnosis in the black community. In addition, HIV/AIDS is the greatest killer of black men ages 25 to 44, while asthma, diabetes and obesity are increasingly on the rise among African-American children compared to white adolescents in the same age group.
"We want to make sure people are aware of these dangers so they can be properly screened and tested for such medical conditions," said Dr. Mims. "It’s possible that if we find and diagnosis these types of health problems early on, then we can treat them before they cause too much damage and thereby significantly improve short- and long-term health outcomes."
Free copies of the video and discussion guidebook are available while supplies last at the Kaiser Permanente Georgia medical centers listed below.
Kaiser Permanente of Georgia Medical Office Locations
- Alpharetta Medical Center - 3550 Preston Ridge Road, Alpharetta
- Brookwood at Peachtree Medical Center - 1745 Peachtree Road, Suite U, Atlanta
- Cascade Medical Center, 1175 Cascade Parkway, Atlanta
- Crescent Medical Center, 200 Crescent Centre Parkway, Tucker
- Cumberland Medical Center, 2525 Cumberland Parkway, Atlanta
- Glenlake Medical Center, 20 Glenlake Parkway, Atlanta
- Forsyth Medical Center, 1400 Northside Forsyth Drive, Suite 350, Cumming
- Gwinnett Medical Center, 3650 Steve Reynolds Boulevard, Duluth
- Henry Towne Centre Medical Center, 1125 Towne Centre Village Drive, McDonough
- Panola Medical Center, 5440 Hillandale Drive, Lithonia
- Southwood Medical Center, 2400 Mt. Zion Parkway, Jonesboro
- TownPark Medical Center, 750 TownPark Lane, Kennesaw
Kaiser Permanente is the state of Georgia's largest nonprofit health plan, serving the health care needs of Atlanta metro area residents for 22 years. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc. currently provides comprehensive health care services to approximately 275,000 members through 15 medical facilities in a 28-county service, and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The Health Plan provided more than $5 million in community benefit programs and services.
