MILWAUKEE — From medical hair loss to skin cancer, a group of Milwaukee-area dermatologists worked to help people in the city's Black community get treatment early.
At popular barbershop Gee’s Clippers, Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin staff offered visitors free skin, hair, and nail screenings on Saturday, Feb. 18, for the third year in a row.
“I feel good coming here,” visitor Arlyn Lacking said. “I’m more comfortable coming here than having to go to an actual regular doctor’s office.”
Community Outreach Nurse Jasmine Johnikin said the event’s goal was to bring care directly to the community, particularly those without insurance, and help them understand the importance of routine screenings.
“People do not take their skin, their hair, or their nails seriously,” Johnikin said. “They’re like ‘Oh we’re black. We have melanin. We don’t have anything to worry about’ but in fact, we do have things that we should consider.”
Assistant Professor with Froedtert MCW Dr. Shola Vaughn said screenings like the one at Gee’s are especially important because dermatological conditions often go undiagnosed for people of color.
“I think the medical community has a lot of work to do in terms of partnering with communities and really showing up,” Vaughn said.
She also said people in the medical field are starting to pay more attention. They’re doing things like incorporating darker skin tones in presentations and textbooks so doctors have a better understanding of how conditions can appear based on tone.
Still, Vaughn believes more could be done to ensure people of color are not only getting diagnosed but treated early.
“Doctors like me, we often don’t recognize our own limitations,” she said. “We think that the problem is in skin, the person’s skin, not our own ability to recognize the subtle findings. So, we need more practice.”
In addition to hosting several pop-up community services, like Saturday’s screening, Gee’s Clippers is home to an in-house clinic.
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