Suffolk County's Gospel Health Fest combines music with screenings, education

Chanel Smiley took a seat and extended her arm for a blood pressure screening as the rising melody of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” filled the Van Nostrand Theater in Brentwood on Saturday.

“I’m stressed, because I’m an overthinker,” the 39-year-old from Brentwood said. “So I said ‘You know what, let me check my numbers.’”

She was pleased to see a normal reading and said it’s important to stay on top of your health.

“Get your tests, your exams and know the medicines you’re supposed to take,” Smiley said.

That was the main message as music and medicine converged at the annual Gospel Health Fest hosted by the Suffolk County Health Department at Suffolk County Community College. More than 100 attendees enjoyed performances from gospel choirs and dance ministries while meeting with health care providers to get screenings and education.

The event coincided with National Minority Health Month, observed every April to highlight racial disparities in health care and improve health in marginalized communities.

“We couple the uplifting music with the health resources because we don't know if whoever is showing up has had a checkup, [or] a connection to a health insurance plan,” said Adesuwa Watson, director of the county’s Office of Minority Health.

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott started the event in 2010 to better reach minority residents. He took inspiration for the festival from his days as a student singing in an interfaith gospel choir at Brown University.

​​“Music can be a draw to bring people out of their church homes,” he said, adding that the event can “intersperse teaching moments,” leaving attendees better informed and empowered about their health.

More than 50 booths featured information on heart disease and obesity, cancer prevention, women’s health, smoking cessation, substance abuse and mental health resources.

Dajuon Walters, who does community outreach for the county’s Cancer Services Program at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, said early detection is critical. The organization focuses on free breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings for people without insurance.

“If somebody is preoccupied with life, they are not worried about their health,” she said. “They have to worry about how they’re feeding the kids, how they’re getting to and from work, the cost of daycare."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows members of minority groups have higher rates of illness and death linked to diseases including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma and heart disease.

Pigott said data in Suffolk County follows those national trends. The county established the Office of Minority Health in 2005 to help address inequities through access to care.

Watson said it is valuable to bring health into the community because many people fear clinical settings.

“It can be intimidating, or they may have even had a bad experience,” she said.

Mark “MK” McLaughlin, of Riverhead, sang at the event and said being hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2021 inspired a healthier life.

“There is that ‘I’m afraid to go to the doctor’ because people feel like doctors are just bearers of bad news,” McLaughlin, 37, said. “But health is wealth.”