Via Scott Roberts Bloomingdale DC

 Washington Hospital Center’s Fall 2010 Community Health Links newsletter came out this week.

 

On the page back of the newsletter in the Community Spotlight column is a profile of Edgewood resident and Ward 5 ANC commissioner Marshall R. Phillips Sr.

 

A Man With a Mission

 

As an active and well-known member of the District`s Edgewood community, Marshall R. Phillips Sr., has partnered with Washington Hospital Center on a wide range of community initiatives over the years.

 

But his bond with the Hospital Center grew even stronger two years ago when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  Now cancer-free, he has taken on a new mission – to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the importance of men getting regular checkups.

  

``I am here today because my cancer was caught early,`` he explains.  ``Too many men are dying from this dieases, because they won’t go to the doctor.``   

 

Phillips acknowledges that prostate cancer is something men don`t want to talk or think about.  So he intends to reach as many men as possible through his everyday work: he serves on Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C, a post he has held for 18 years;  he is founder and director of the Edgewood Youth Development Center, and he is a minister at the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church.  He also plans to use a mobile health van owned by his church for community outreach and hopes to partner with the Hospital Center to conduct screenings.

 

``There are a lot of reasons that men don`t go the doctor,`` he adds.  ``For many, it`s because they don`t have insurance or the money to see the doctor.  But there are organizations that want you to stay healthy and have programs to help you do that.``

 

He notes that embarrassment also keeps some men from the doctor.   ``My advice to men is to get over it, and get a checkup,`` he says.  ``The people doing these screenings are health care professionals.``

 

Philips has high praise for the Hospital Center for providing District residents with the best quality care, even in the toughest circumstances.  ``When DC General closed it doors, the Hospital Center stepped right up to the plate,`` he says.

 

He also praises members of the Community Relations department for partnering with outside organizations on initiatives ranging from its Youth Mentoring program to various food and gift drives – program with which he has first-hand experience.  ``Johnette Wilson, Ruby Price and Khay Bullock Henry are truly dedicated to their work and are assets to the Hospital Center,`` he says.