Media Advisory

Suffolk County Hosts First Men’s Health Forum

Office of Minority Health Reaches Out to Men of Color

In its continuing effort to promote preventive medicine in SuffolkCounty, the Department of Health Services’ Office of Minority Health (OMH) will be hosting its first Men’s Health Forum entitled “Scoring is not a Matter of Life or Death – Safe Sex Is!” A speaker from the Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition will discuss topics concerning sexual health, including erectile dysfunction, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.  Lunch will be provided.

This Men’s Health Forum grew out of the OMH Suffolk Health Outreach Partnerships (SHOPs) program, a national- award-winning program that brings health information to Latinos and African Americans in barber and beauty shops across SuffolkCounty.

“We created the Office of Minority Health in 2005 in order to make health information and resources more available to our residents by bringing it to their doorsteps in communities that need this information most,” said County Executive Steve Levy. “The SHOPs program has been so successful because beauty salons and barbershops are places where people often socialize and share information.”

The SHOPs program has been in existence since the fall of 2006 and has reached over 350 residents of minority groups since its inception.

“Over the years we have developed a very good relationship with the barbershop owners throughout the county,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, Director of the Office of Minority Health. “This fall we are using our network of shops in Riverhead to promote men’s health. We are hoping to evaluate, tweak, and replicate this event in other areas of Suffolk in the future as part of our ongoing effort to eliminate health disparities.”

For more information on the Men’s Health Forum, call the Suffolk County Department of Health Services’ Office of Minority Health at 631- 853 – 5078.

What:                         Men’s Health Forum

When:                        Tuesday, October 6, 2009, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where:                      Riverhead Library, 330 Court St., Riverhead, NY