COLUMBIA, S.C. — A local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated in Columbia took a proactive approach to address healthcare gaps on Saturday by hosting a community day focused on providing health screenings.
The event entailed live entertainment, scholarship awards for high school seniors, local vendors, and more.
“With our organization, we have six major initiatives that we’re working on. That includes sisterhood empowering our community empowering our environment, uplifting our community advocating for social justice building economic wealth and we’re doing those things because we want to make certain that our community is healthy," Chapter President Diann Price Williams said.
By adhering to those goals, another focus was bridging the gap in healthcare in the 29203 zip code of Columbia with health screenings.
“Some people are having high blood pressure and a lot of them are coming and saying, 'I didn’t take my blood pressure medicine' or 'I’m half taking it.' So, we’re focusing on things that we feel are important,” Avis Buchanan, director of nursing at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, said.
She added in this particular area these conditions aren't uncommon. According to DHEC, one in three South Carolinians has been diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension. It's described as a silent killer as it is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Obesity also impacts South Carolinians. According to the CDC, 35% of residents were categorized as overweight and 32.1% were considered obese.
“We know that just because of the population we’re having a lot of issues with obesity and high blood pressure," Buchanan said.
Toni Wilson, a clinical instructor with Midlands Tech, said that, in order to help lower numbers in this area, there need be resources other than medication to help with the prevention of those illnesses.
“We are hoping that, by instructing different clients about their diet -- not eating a lot of fast foods or salty foods, eating more baked foods, turkey, fish, things like that -- to help improve diet," Wilson said.
Event organizers added it’s important to bridge the gap to build a healthier community in areas often overlooked.
This is the first time the organization has hosted its annual Community Day since the COVID-19 pandemic began.