Thousands Screened at Health Summit

Thousands of people from minority communities in Orlando and Orange County showed up early on Saturday morning at the Caribbean Health Summit, to take advantage of free screenings and to learn how to live fit and healthy lives.

Now into its 9th year, the Caribbean Health Summit offered blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol, PSA, Body Mass Index, Pap smears and mammograms, among others, to the many participants that attended.   Under the Summit theme, “Healthy You = Health Community”, educational materials and information on the importance of tobacco-free environments, were shared by Dr. Marie-Jose Francois, Executive Director of the Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention Inc., (CMWP) and coordinator of the event.

Former U.S. Congressman Alan Grayson (D-Orlando) and keynote speaker at the Health Summit, told the audience that everyone should be able to see a doctor if they are sick and urged anyone without healthcare coverage to visit the website: healthcare.gov.  He said, because of the Affordable Care Act, tremendous strides had been made in providing health insurance coverage to many more Americans, but the U.S. remained the only industrialized country in the world without universal healthcare.

“Ask anyone who is running for elected office, ‘Do you support my right to see a doctor when I am sick’?,”  Grayson said.  “The answer should determine whether you vote for that person or not, as the most important thing is our health.”

Grayson, who vowed to continue the fight to ensure that all Americans have access to healthcare, noted that 20 percent of Floridians have no health insurance coverage, including 40 percent of minorities.

State Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) said many people neglect their health because of “busy lives,” something she had done six years ago, before being diagonized with cancer. As a cancer survivor, Thompson encouraged those present to take advantage of available free screenings provided by the many participating organizations, including Florida Hospital Celebration Health and Florida Technical College.

“Your health is your greatest asset,” Commissioner Ronald Brise of Florida Public Service Commission told attendees. “If you are not healthy, you can’t go to work or take care of your children properly.”

He underscored the importance of good nutrition and urged that parents and communities work to pass on good healthy life style skills from one generation to another, in order to make sure “our children are healthy.”

Commissioner Daisy Lynum (District 5), read a Proclamation from the City of Orlando, proclaiming September 10, as the 9th Annual Caribbean Health Summit 2011.  She expressed appreciation for the work the CMWP, Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce, Greater Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Orlando, among others, had undertaken over the past nine years, in providing free screenings and other services, to multi-cultural populations, including minorities and Caribbean communities in the Orlando metro area.

The Health Summit brought together several local, City, County and State agencies, such as Florida Department of Health/Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Primary Care Access Network (PCAN), Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando, Orange County Healthy Start Coalitions, Haitian Outreach, Vitas, Visionary Vanguard and Florida Civil Rights Association and many other community organization and agencies.