By Malachi Kudura, Contributing Writer
The 4th Friday of every month, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., JIREH Providers gives free Flu Vaccinations, Covid-19 Vaccinations, Boosters, and free Covid-19 tests at the George Stevens Senior Resource Center. This offers the elders in the community an opportunity to be completely vaccinated at no cost.
“JIREH Providers are the best. A good leader knows how to follow. If they tell me to get five shots I will. They will even come to your house to get you vaccinated,” said Rosemary Pope, Executive Director of the George Stevens Senior Center. She was the first to receive her Covid-19 Booster Friday.
JIREH’s mission is to decrease health disparities in the underserved communities & people of color. Jireh In Hebrew means “God is my Provider”. The community healthcare company’s name JIREH is an acronym meaning Joint Initiatives for Racial Equity in Health.
JIREH is dedicated to providing the people in the Southeast community services they can trust. With many people in the urban community having a distrust due to bad experiences with the medical industry, JIREH Providers offers a breath of fresh air.
“I’ve been in nursing for over 20 years and one of the reasons I stepped out of practice 2 years ago is in all of that time I have not been able to reach the community in the way that I wanted to. I want to be able to take care of our Black and Brown communities [and] give them the attention they need and deserve,” said Samantha Williams, FNP who is the Founder and CEO of JIREH Providers.
“There are a lot of health disparities that exist in our community. Right now, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in our community. Seven out of the ten diseases that affect our community are all chronic diseases. Those are things we can do something about,” Williams continued.
The term “Health is the new Wealth” is very true to its core meaning. Without having a healthy mind, body and spirit, monetary riches only go so far. So, it is important to educate ourselves on the many ways we can keep up and maintain our health.
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