Bridging the Gap on minority health disparities

LIMA — Bridging the Gap Health and Wellness Expo took place for the first time in three years due to COVID-19 from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the auditorium, dining hall and classrooms within Lima Senior High School.

“Bridging the Gap is a community-wide health and wellness expo. Annually we have different area agencies come and try to give information to the public about different health and wellness screens and also the ability to find community resources that they may not have known they could utilize,” said Cheryl Nagy, Director of Oncology Services for Lima Memorial.

The event’s goals are to:

• Increase health awareness and disease prevention education for African-American community members by providing a variety of free health screenings

• Increase awareness of local, state and national health services and resources

• Motivate participants to make positive health behavior changes in mind, body and soul

• Teach self-care practices to enhance well-being between doctor visits to maintain physical and mental health by reducing risk of diseases

“Lima Memorial has played an big part in the organization’s history because they were the ones who started Bridging the Gap in 2015 with a community investment grant from the American Cancer Society,” Nagy said. “We knew we had a higher rate of breast cancer in African American women, so that first event was tailored for them. We had 10 community ambassadors from the African American community. They were invited to ask 10 people each to attend a dinner with nationally known speaker Harold Freeman from Harlem, who is the former president of the American Cancer Society.”

The data about cancer screenings by race were derived from a study surveying the state of Ohio, Nagy said.

During that year’s event over 400 people received information about breast mammography and there were on-site mammography techs performing a clinical breast exam.

From there, the mission of Bridging the Gap widened to address not only women’s needs but those of the entire community.

“Bridging the Gap stresses the importance of community resources so anyone who might have a need for access to care will have it,” Nagy said.

Health screenings for hearing, osteoporosis, blood pressure, balance checks and diabetes checks were conducted.

Health information shared Saturday included breast and cervical cancer screenings, sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s disease, mental health, vision care, nutrition, the WIC program and Medicare and commercial insurance.

Other activities included chair massages, a shadow boxing demo workout, a CPR demonstration and a healthy cooking demonstration.

Some of the participating organizations with representatives on hand included Lima Memorial Outpatient Oncology/Cardiology Nutrition Services, Alzheimer’s Association, Autism Awareness, Breast & Cervical Cancer Awareness Project, the Women’s Health Center from Lima Memorial, West Central Ohio Sickle Cell Center, Dayton Children’s, Big Brothers/Big Sisters West Central Ohio Surgery & Endoscopy Center, Senior Citizen’s Services, Mercy Health’s Weight Management, Lima Memorial’s Walk-In Care & Diabetic Center, Buckeye Health Plan, WIC, Help Me Grow, and Lima Memorial Obstetrics and Pediatrics departments, Soothing Touch Massage Studio, Lima Memorial’s Cardiology department, Mercy Health, Senior Citizen’s Services and Beltone.

For more information, email [email protected].

Reach Shannon Bohle at 567-242-0399, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Bohle_LimaNews.

Shannon Bohle
Shannon Bohle covers entertainment at The Lima News. After growing up in Shawnee Township, she earned her BA at Miami University, MLIS from Kent State University, MA from Johns Hopkins University-Baltimore and pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. Bohle assisted with the publication of nine books and has written for National Geographic, Nature, NASA, Astronomy & Geophysics and Bloomsbury Press. Her public speaking venues included the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the Smithsonian and UC-Berkeley, and her awards include The National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest and a DoD competition in artificial intelligence. Reach her at [email protected] or 567-242-0399.