Annual event is evolving as it welcomes all men to Tri-C, Cleveland Heights for screenings, health education

The MetroHealth System will offer dozens of health screenings, health education and career resources — all at no cost — at its 2024 Men’s Health Fair, which takes place from 11a. to 4p on Saturday, April 27, at two locations in Greater Cleveland.

The 2024 Men’s Health Fair will be held at the Alex B. Johnson Center at Cuyahoga Community College’s Metro campus, 2900 Community College Ave [44115]. MetroHealth will simultaneously host the fair at its Cleveland Heights Medical Center, 10 Severance Center [44118]. Registration is encouraged but walk-ins are welcome.

This year’s fair will offer health screenings and education focused on cholesterol, diabetes, digestive health, glaucoma/vision, heart health, high blood pressure, kidney health, oral health, prostate health, prostate cancer, urinary tract health, behavioral health, and more.

Drs. Charles Modlin, M.D., Airica Steed, Ed.D. and Michael Baston, Ed.D. 

“Every year, this event saves lives,” said Charles Modlin, MD, MBA, FACS, the health fair’s founder, a practicing urologist and MetroHealth’s Vice President & Chief Health Equity Officer. “Sometimes men struggle with putting their health first, but our message to all men is that your health matters. Every person — regardless of their skin color, where they live or their economic circumstances — deserves a chance at a long, healthy life.”

At last year’s Men’s Health Fair, for example, MetroHealth performed lab work for hundreds of attendees to identify potentially life-threatening health conditions. In fact, 37% of those screened had high cholesterol; 76% had high blood sugar levels; and 13% had abnormal PSA levels, indicating an elevated risk of prostate cancer. These individuals were provided an opportunity to connect with a MetroHealth provider for follow-up care.

The Men’s Health Fair is part of the health system’s agenda to expand healthcare access, advance health equity and ultimately eliminate the glaring gap in life expectancies in Greater Cleveland and beyond. Research has demonstrated that people of color, including African American, Hispanic, Native American and other populations fare worse than others in virtually every health outcome, including heart disease, asthma, diabetes, mental illness and much more.

For example, American Cancer Society data indicate that up to one in four black men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime, compared to a one in eight chance for white men and the death rate for prostate cancer in black men is twice that in white men.

“We are on a mission to end inequality in healthcare,” MetroHealth President & CEO Airica Steed, Ed.D, RN, MBA, FACHE. “We are committed to doing more than putting a dent in healthcare disparities. We intend to eradicate them. We have a responsibility to ensure our communities our seen and our communities are heard.”

Dr. Steed added, “Wives, sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins, grandmothers and girlfriends, please encourage the men in your life to attend this life-changing event and make their health a priority. It takes all of us working together to build a healthier community.”

In keeping with MetroHealth’s reimagined mission, the hospital last September launched its first Multicultural Women's Health Fair & Empowerment Expo, in part building off the success of its men’s fair.

This year’s men’s health fair will be the third sponsored by MetroHealth, which adopted the event following its September 2021 hiring of Modlin, who founded the event in 2003 when he was with the Cleveland Clinic.

The fair continues to involve now that is under MetroHealth auspices. Major changes this year include collaboration with Tri-C, in many ways a natural collaborator given the organizations’ deepening partnership, a shared commitment to equity, and a large overlap in their service populations. The fact that the CEOs of both MetroHealth and Tri-C arrived in town within months of one another to assume their leadership roles likely played a role in the collaboration as well.

“Academic access and academic success for our students depends on their health,” said Tri-C President Michael Baston. “There is no reason that any member of our community should go without regular checkups and routine tests. There is no reason that any member of our community should suffer from treatable conditions or have their quality of life or length of life diminished by a lack of medical care.”

A second key change in the continuing evolution of the event is its rebranding; the Minority Men’s Health Fair has quietly become MetroHealth Men’s Health Fair. A third is the shifting of the traditional event scheduling from late afternoon Thursdays to this year’s mid-day Saturday. Also, the fair will be held at two locations, down from last year’s three.

[Shuttle service will be available for attendees needing transportation to Tri-C’s Metropolitan campus from the MetroHealth Buckeye Health Center and The MetroHealth Glick Center. Service will be available from 10:30a to 2:30p. To request the shuttle service, call 216-778-7066.]

Other changes are no doubt in the pipeline. In September 2022, MetroHealth announced the opening of its Minority Men’s Health Institute. It is also implementing several Multicultural Health Centers of Excellence to encompass more than 40 health equity specialty centers aimed at addressing health disparities that disproportionately affect minority and multicultural populations of men, women, and children.

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