Gospel Health Fest uses music as backdrop to relay info on heart disease, cancer, diabetes, more

The power of music to unite and unify served as the backdrop of Saturday's 10th Gospel Health Fest.

Between powerful singing and percussion performances, the more than 150 attendees at the Van Nostrand Theatre in Brentwood received health information on heart disease, prostate and breast cancers, diabetes and more.

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said he came up with the concept for the health fest in 2010.

"The idea was to use music as a unifier and get people in a room," Pigott said. And once they get everyone together, "just hit them with health information," he added.

Hosted by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services Office of Minority Health with partners like Catholic Health and Sun River Health, the four-hour event featured several dozen tables in the theater's lobby with health professionals handing out information and administering services like blood pressure screenings.

Inside the theater on the campus of Suffolk County Community College, the guests enjoyed music from groups like United in Christ Soundsosweet with health experts mixed in between performances to share advice.

Pigott said the goal is "rethinking traditional health care."

The event coincides with National Minority Health Month, held in April to promote health equity in minority communities.

Lois Gardner, 82, of Wyandanch, said she attended after her daughter showed her a flyer. She had her blood pressure taken and was reminded to limit her salt intake. Then she remembered she ate pretzels earlier in the day.

"I learned so much," Gardner said, adding that she also received information about Medicare.

Rama Rajagopalan, a diabetes specialist from Catholic Health based at Good Samaritan University Hospital, spoke to the audience about how they can improve their diets. She held a plate of food as an example of the "Diabetes Plate Method."

Using a 9-inch plate, she described how to balance a meal. She said to fill half the plate with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli or spinach. Then one-quarter of the plate would be for a protein like chicken. And the remaining quarter would be for carbohydrates like pasta or rice.

"It all depends on portion control at the end of the day," Rajagopalan said of an effective way to manage diabetes or prediabetes.

Yolanda Williams-Lewis, a nurse practitioner and president of the Suffolk County Black Nurses Association, said in an interview their group was focused on high blood pressure and obesity.

She said while a single high blood pressure reading doesn't necessarily equate to hypertension, it's important to educate people so they know to monitor going forward.

"We also give them a card so they can keep a log of it," Williams-Lewis said.

Nicole Cappello, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, helped distribute information on diabetes and general nutrition.

As many as 1 in 8 people have diabetes, with 90% to 95% of those people having type 2, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Minority groups like African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos face higher risk of diabetes, according to the CDC.

"We're just trying to promote awareness for diabetes," Cappello said. "Our goal is to prevent type 2 diabetes."

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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