Dr. V Gives Back
Service to others is at the cornerstone of not only my medical practice but also my daily life. I am committed to community service and have dedicated myself to closing the health disparity gap. I believe everyone deserves a chance to be healthy and successful in life. And good health is directly correlated to your success! For this reason in 2007 I founded Get Checked 4 Life, Inc, a non-profit organization that assists members of underserved communities in improving their quality of life by educating them and giving them access to necessary tools and medical resources in order to close the healthcare disparity gap.
GET CHECKED 4 LIFE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that assists underserved communities and ethnic groups in improving their quality of life by educating and giving them access to the necessary tools and medical resources to live a long healthy life. This is particularly important, since as recently as 1999, the Health Census Bureau’s study showed that life expectancy for Whites was 77 years compared to only 71 years for Blacks. This difference can be attributed to racial discrimination, a lack of access to healthcare, and cultural barriers to health education. For these reasons, Get Checked 4 Life pays particular attention to health concerns of at-risk populations and undeserved populations who are at increased and disproportionate risk for: HIV/AIDS, stroke, cancer, asthma, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
REAL MEN GET CHECKED
Statistics show Black men suffer from the worst health outcomes compared to any other racial group in America! They live 7.1 years less than other racial groups and have the highest death rates for all leading causes. To combat these issues we created the Real Men Get Checked program and offer comprehensive FREE health screenings for a variety of medical conditions including: HIV, glaucoma, cholesterol, prostate cancer, Hepatitis C, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes to name a few. Attendees at this event are also provided access to free and affordable health care resources and services for follow-up services. The goal of this program is to provide information about common diseases, and offer affordable health care resources to help men and their families easily access, educate and empower themselves to better handle their health care needs.
MOMMY 4 LIFE
This year in the United States almost 1 million girls under the age of 20 will become pregnant and 500,000 will give birth. Between 1991-2005 U.S. statistics on teen pregnancy declined; however, the US now has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the Western World. Most teens say they don’t mean to get pregnant, but they also don’t know what it really takes to be a mommy. This program with the support of community partners targets urban youth and first time mothers and offers workshops, information, and on-site resources that cover the A-Z’s of being a new mommy, including how to diaper and feed a baby to parenting and job skills training. Our goal is to equip these give these young and first-time moms with tools that give them and their babies the best chance for success.