For Myriam Roby, doctor of nursing practice and Health Equity Clinical outcomes director at Hennepin Healthcare, walking into a car dealership led to the creation of an event to combat breast cancer disparities.
“We had a conversation (at the dealership) and started brainstorming about how we could collaborate to do a service for our communities as well as a service for each other,” said David Jones, director of finance at Shakopee Chevrolet, where Roby went to purchase a car. Jones also owns D. Jones Entertainment, a company he described as providing “a way for non-party businesses to throw parties,” and that gives him the opportunity to “do entertainment with a cause.”
“When we had this conversation and she explained to me what she actually does with Hennepin Health, I was like, ‘This is a match made in heaven. There’s no way we don’t collaborate with each other.’”
On May 11, D. Jones Entertainment, in partnership with Hennepin Healthcare, is hosting a pre-Mother’s Day dinner and health expo, with Roby speaking to attendees about women’s health. The dinner takes place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Protagonist Kitchen & Bar, 6601 Lyndale Ave. S. in Richfield. Before the dinner, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Hennepin Healthcare’s Richfield Clinic, 790 66th St. – which is within walking distance from Protagonist – will be open to provide free breast cancer screenings, mammograms and education to event attendees.
“We’ll have residents. We’ll have primary care providers. We’ll have individuals from the OBGYN, midwife, doula group,” said Roby, who added that these providers will be on hand to provide education, perform breast cancer screenings and in the case of those within the right age group, perform mammograms. Hennepin Healthcare recommends annual mammograms for women 40 and older, while the United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends women 50-74 years old should have a mammogram once every two years.
According to the ticketing page for the event, food will also be provided at Richfield Clinic by Lutunji’s Palate, courtesy of Bishop David E. Johnson and First Lady Tesa Johnson at Grace Apostolic Church.
For Roby, this event fits in with her strategic initiative as health equity outcomes clinical director to close gaps in health care, including those affecting Minnesota’s Black community. According to recent data provided by the Minnesota Department of Health, 42% of breast cancers in non-Hispanic Black women are diagnosed at late stage, when survival is less likely and the disease is harder to treat. For women of all other racial and ethnic groups, only 28% of diagnosed breast cancers were diagnosed at late stage. Additionally, non-Hispanic Black women in Minnesota have a 35% higher breast cancer mortality rate than women of all other races combined and are twice as likely to die within five years of diagnosis as women of all other races in Minnesota.
Health disparities affecting people in Minneapolis – where the majority of Hennepin Healthcare’s patients come from – including disparities in breast cancer, said Roby, don’t exist because people lack knowledge about their health. They are, she said, the result of the effects of various social determinants of health – the wide range of social and economic factors in a person’s life that affect their health in some way.
In Minneapolis, said Roby, there is “redlining … pollution (and) not great access to grocery stores that have healthy foods. Even health care can be at a premium, even though we have North Memorial and Hennepin Healthcare as institutions (along with) NorthPoint and other primary care places … with a lack of childcare, who’s going to watch their children when they need to seek primary care?” Roby also pointed to finances and accessibility as barriers to health care.
“It’s been a godsend to be able to do this with (Roby),” said Jones, whose daughter is currently dealing with stage two breast cancer. “Health issues within our communities; they’re never addressed. And I think it’s time we take a stand and address them.”
In addition to providing screenings and education, the event is also set to be one that entertains and uplifts.
“We’re gonna have R&B artist Ray Covington serenade all the women,” said Jones, “So that’ll be a treat within itself. To top it all off, we’re going to do a testimonial to let certain people speak about what their mother means to them.”
In the future, Roby is interested in pursuing similar events to address other health disparities, such as in colorectal screening for men. This event, however, she said, has become more than a celebration of women – it’s a chance for them to take time and focus on their own health.
“Since you’re already here for the event, if you have 10 minutes, let us do a mammogram if you fit those screening parameters. If not, we have providers there that are willing to do a breast cancer screening,” said Roby.
Deanna Pistono
Deanna Pistono is MinnPost’s Race & Health Equity fellow. Follow her on Twitter @deannapistono or email her at dpistono@minnpost.com.
