Health Needs to Be Priority Among African Americans

HOUSTON - Texas is home to one of the largest populations of African Americans in the U.S. When it comes to the health of this population, there are many concerns and challenges.

Consider that the death rate for African Americans is higher than whites when it comes to heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza, pneumonia, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.

"A lot of people will wait until it's too late until these chronic diseases have advanced so far that it's almost nothing you can do about it," says Marcus Roland, CEO of Central Care Community Health Center.

In fact, African Americans are 1 and 1/2 times more likely to have high blood pressure. African American men are 30 percent more likely to die from heart heart disease.

When it comes to diabetes, it is twice as deadly in African Americans.

"Hypertension and diabetes are our two number one chronic diseases that we manage here," says Roland in an office of the Riverside Clinic. Both can be related to diet.

Roland wants patients to realize that they can eat healthy without adding any cost. He hopes to get that message to the younger generation.

"We have a large population of juvenile onset diabetes, morbid obesity; those kinds of things are presenting in younger and younger people. That wasn't a problem maybe 20 or 30 years ago."

Wellness and prevention have to be at the top of the priority list. But for those struggling financially, it may not make the list at all. That is where clinics like Riverside come in.

"If you don't have any money today, we will work out a payment plan. Some of the grants that we have may help you qualify for free services altogether. We look for different avenues to get our patients in and remove that financial barrier."