Men’s Health Week at Mattapan Community Health Center

Author: Don WestProstate Screening Tent at Mattapan Community Health Center’s annual Health Care Revival.

Mattapan Community Health Center (MCHC) urges men and their families to celebrate Father’s Day with the gift of good health and life. To recognize the federally designated Men’s Health Month in June, MCHC is sponsoring a series of health events during the health center’s Men’s Health Week, June 11-17, 2012. It will include the following free activities, which will focus on the importance of men seeking out health care before they are sick:

Thursday, June 14th, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

MCHC hosts, “What Really Makes Us Stronger? Brothers Speak Out on Staying Healthy After 40.” This educational session will be facilitated by Beau Stubblefield-Tave, a principal with the Center for Culturally Fluent Leadership and a member of the Prostate Health Education Network. The network provides prostate cancer education and awareness focusing on African American men. Individuals who attend this event and agree to a six months of follow-up phone calls will receive a $25 gift card upon completion of participation. Light refreshments will be served.

Friday, June 15th, 10:00am – 2:00pm

MCHC will host a Men’s Health Information Table. MCHC staff will wear blue that day as reminder to men of the importance of staying healthy and to let men know they care. Come by and receive information specifically pertaining to men. Family planning services, free HIV counseling and screening, and information regarding health insurance options will be available.

Saturday, June 16th, 10:00am — 2:00pm

MCHC partners with the Dana Farber Blum Family Van, which will be on location offering complimentary prostate cancer screenings. Dr. Jacques Carter and  Mark Kennedy, experts in Men’s Health and Cancer Care Services, will discuss how everyday choices can lower cancer risk and improve health. This is an excellent opportunity for men who are at risk for prostate cancer — due to family history, race, age, or diet — to be screened. Call 617-898-9053 to schedule your appointment today.

For families seeking a primary care provider, consider MCHC as a culturally competent place to receive comprehensive health care services. MCHC is one of the six Action for Boston Community Department (ABCD) sites that have incorporated male sexual and reproductive health services in its Family Planning Program. The purpose of integrating men in family planning is to increase the capacity to serve men. Specifically,  the program provides educational and counseling services for them to protect their own health, improve their well-being, and to prepare themselves to be better partners and fathers.

MCHC thanks their partners: Massachusetts Department of Public Health, ABCD and the Dana Farber Blum Family Van for co-sponsoring these events, and for their continued support of the health center’s patients and the Mattapan community.

For more information or to RSVP to any of MCHC’s Men’s Health Week events, contact Sharon Callender, RN, MPH, Family and Community Health Services Coordinator at 617-898-9053. All events are held at MCHC, 1425 Blue Hill Ave. Mattapan, MA.

Marking Father’s Day with a Healthy Legacy

This summer, the new and improved Mattapan Community Health Center is expected to open on 1575 Blue Hill Ave. in Mattapan Square. The 50,000 square foot “green” building will house a CVS Pharmacy — the first pharmacy in Mattapan Square in 30 years — and a Citizen’s Bank branch. Funded partly through federal stimulus dollars, the new health facility will greatly increase MCHC’s capacity to provide quality care to the community.

Leave your own —  or that of a loved one’s — lasting imprint on MCHC’s Community Wall of Donors when you buy a brick. The wall will be visibly located along Blue Hill Avenue. Be part of the healthy legacy that the “new” MCHC represents and call 617-898-9049 or visit www.mattapanchc.org to order your commemorative brick today!