On Saturday, March 15, the Duke Head and Neck Surgery & Communications Sciences (HNS&CS) department participated in the Black Family Wellness Expo, organized by The Links, INC. This annual event aims to reduce health and economic disparities and improve lives within the Black community. The expo featured free health screenings, live music and dancing, cooking demonstrations, vendors, giveaways, and activities for the whole family.
The Links, INC, established in 1946, is one of the nation's oldest and largest volunteer service organizations dedicated to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other people of African ancestry.
The event showcased four different HNS&CS specialties. In Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), Jamila Minga, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, and her team, including Jina Mosely-Woodard, MS, CCC-SLP, Helen Wrenn, MS, CCC-SLP, Karen Everitt, MS, CCC-SLP, and Marilouise Nichols, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, Acute Care Rehab Manager at Duke Raleigh, provided pediatric speech and language developmental screenings and adult cognitive screenings. Two wake county high school students, Haielle Minga, and Kailyn Hicks, volunteered to escort community members to screening rooms. Additionally, Haielle Minga and Lyda Cruden of Cruden Strings played a variety of classical pieces, some by Black composers, during the event. In Audiology, Andrea Bailey, MA, CCC-A, and her team, consisting of Madeline Peterson, BA, C-AA, Kelly Cabrera, and Krista Roper, AuD, CCC-A, conducted hearing screenings. Speech-language Pathology and Audiology staff and faculty were joined by Danai Fannin, PhD, CCC-SLP and Cheria Hay, MS, CCC-SLP of North Carolina Central University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) with their graduate students: Krystle Reyes, Sydney Jones, Jaeda Maith, Tia Green, Aprice Pritchett, Angel Ngote, and Erica Bryant. NCCU CSD graduate students rotated between speech-language pathology, cognitive, and hearing rooms to assist with screenings. Department of Duke Neurology was represented by Kristi Lyn Kehoe, PA-C, who provided stroke education and materials. The Duke Voice Care Center, represented by Gina Vess, CCC-SLP, and Dan Sherwood, CCC-SLP, offered vocal health education and voice screenings. Lastly, in Head and Neck Surgery, Tammara Watts, MD, PhD, and Leda Scearce, MS., CCC-SLP, along with Duke medical students: Tariq Omer, Nathan Sattah, Michelle Kim, May Gao, Natasha Andreason, Konyin Adewumi, Avani Vasireddy, and Mohamed-Yahia Monawar, performed head and neck cancer screenings. NCCU also provided a mobile clinic room for head and neck screenings. Over the course of the event, which lasted just over two hours, over 75 screenings were conducted.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of the Black Family Wellness Expo. Special thanks to The Links, INC for organizing this impactful event, and to all the professionals who provided invaluable health screenings and education. Thank you for your commitment to improving lives and fostering a healthier future for all.