AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- Monday night, Piedmont Augusta and the American Heart Association (AHA) are hosting an educational event for barbers and staff.
They’re calling it “Check it in the chair” and it focuses on high blood pressure and it’s impacts on your health.
“Why do you think they chose barbershop and beauty shops?”
“Well, in my opinion, one of the reasons why they chose the barber shop is because 90% of the people trust they barber. 90% of the people trust they beautician. So when they come to the barber shop and the beauty shops, they feel comfortable, don’t mind getting they blood pressure checked because we are again some of the most trusted people in the country,” said barber, John Milton.
Doctors often refer to high blood pressure as the silent killer. That’s because most people who have it, don’t have any symptoms and don’t have it checked often.
“Most people, many people don’t even know that their blood pressure is higher than the norm. So this effort by the American Heart Association and by our community, by Piedmont, to try to get that information out there,” said Dr. Mac Bowman, Piedmont cardiologist.
And here’s how they are helping. Those organizations are getting into the heart of the community to help make people more aware. They’ve installed blood pressure stations in some local barbershops to encourage people to check their blood pressure regularly.
“We call these know your numbers hubs. There are spaces in the community where people can tap in to know when their blood pressure if they don’t have a device at home. And then we’ve also thanks for the gift from Piedmont August have been able to give patrons at these shops devices that they can take home for,” said Jennifer Toole, Community Impact Director with American Heart Association.
The meeting will be at the Hub on Chafee Avenue starting at 6pm. This is for barbers and staff only.
Photojournalist: Dania Alawir
