One-stop barbershop offers health care with haircuts

One-stop barbershop offers health care with haircuts

Most of us would rather get a haircut than go to the doctors, which is exactly why those worried about the health of African-American men brought the action to the New Millennium Sport Barbershop in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles. It's the kind of place where men come to relax, chat, and trim their locks - and today, they also get screened for diabetes and high blood pressure. The tests are courtesy of the Diabetic Amputation Prevention Foundation, whose goal is to screen half a million black men by 2012. They're hoping the tests will prompt more black men to change their diet and live more healthful lives. Part of the problem is that there are more barbershops than places to go to get medical help. So with the help of a grant from the Centers for Disease Control, organizers are hitting more than a hundred barbershops in Los Angeles alone. Barber Christopher Clark says it's a perfect location.