Hypertension is a particularly stealthy health problem because not all patients exhibit symptoms until a greater problem emerges, according to a doctor who recently provided a community workshop at Wheatley school.
The event was hosted by the NAACP Butler County Branch over the weekend.
“Sometimes, hypertension, you don’t even know you have it unless you know (more about it), because sometimes you may not even have symptoms of it,” explained Saint Francis Medical Center practitioner Stacey Grays, who discussed blood pressure and hypertension risk factors and ways to reduce them.
Grays’ program provided information on hypertension, diabetes and cancer screenings for men and women. The goal for the event was for attendees to come away more educated on relevant health topics, and Grays chose her subjects accordingly.
“That’s why I came up with doing something related to hypertension, especially during this time, because with the stress with COVID, people are just more concerned about their health,” she said.
The information provided benefited guests of all backgrounds, but Gray believes this element of her talk was especially important for the Black community.
“According to the CDC, 56% of African Americans have hypertension. That’s a big number when, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, we African Americans only make up 12.4% of the population,” she said.
She also outlined the importance and relative ease of cancer screenings: colorectal screenings for men, and breast cancer screenings for women. Many people prefer to avoid screenings because they are uncomfortable with the tests, or what they think the tests will be.
“Some of them (men) may just be fearful of getting a colonoscopy and we tell them that, hey, it doesn’t always start with the colonoscopy. It starts with the fecal occult blood test, so that’s just giving a stool sample,” Grays said.
The fecal occult blood test looks for trace amounts of blood in stool samples, which can indicated colon cancer or polyps.
For women reluctant to get a mammogram due to discomfort, Grays gave information on how to do self-exams while bathing, with “what to look for and then what to say to your provider” if they find something unusual.
Grays has worked as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Saint Francis Healthcare Center and Kneibert Clinic in Poplar Bluff since 2017. Before that, she practiced internal medicine and pediatrics at SoutheastHEALTH in Dexter, then psychiatric care at FCC Behavioral Heath.
She recently accepted the role of the Butler County NAACP chapter’s vice president. Grays was motivated by “knowing the vision of NAACP and just wanting to empower the community so that there can be a reduction in racial inequalities.
“So, just the mission of trying to unify Butler County more, and be more diverse and inclusive, that’s what made me want to get involved with NAACP.”
More information about Grays can be found on the Saint Francis website at sfmc.net.
More details about local NAACP events and meetings can be found at the NAACP Butler County Branch Facebook page.