获奖者在很小的时候就学习了社区服务
Dr. Reginald Robinson uses analogies to get his message of heart health across to his patients. If they scoff at his suggestions, he may ask them what kind of gas they put into their car.
他们很惊讶,告诉他普通的或者高级的.
"Why not diesel?" he'll ask.
"Doctor," they say, even more surprised, "you know that would mess up my car."
他会点头,看着他们的眼睛.
“不管是雪茄、快餐还是糖, 你把错误的东西放进了你的身体," he tells them. "Treat your body like your car, and do it before the tires are flat and the carburetor is gone."
Maybe they'll listen; maybe they won't. 但他不会放弃他们. 他将继续使用类比. 他将使用严厉的爱. 他不会居高临下地跟他们说话. He will tell them, in their churches, 在当地广播电台或电视沙巴足球体育平台节目中, that 80 percent of the conditions he sees can be modified by lifestyle.
这是他的使命,一个深入人心的使命.
"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death," Robinson said. "If I can make it simple for people who don't understand and make them aware, 这就是我想做的."
Robinson will be honored Thursday, May 2, in the AHA's online National Volunteer Awards ceremony, from 6 to 8 p.m. Central.
With an undergraduate degree from Morehouse College and a medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine, Robinson is following the tradition of service these historic Black colleges instill into their students.
"It's expected that you'll use your degree to help your community," he said. “它已经深入你的内心."
罗宾逊1991年毕业于莫尔豪斯大学, 同年,他的母亲死于肺癌,一个兄弟死于艾滋病. 事情太多了,我都不想上医学院了, 罗宾逊搬到纽约和他的叔叔一起工作, a psychiatrist.
"I looked up to him and how he treated patients, including kids in Harlem," Robinson said. “我想,‘也许我也可以做这样的事情.'"
当他开始读医学院的时候, 他使关怀永久化,而不是领域, opting for cardiology because of the high incidence of heart disease in the Black community. (Black people are 比非西班牙裔白人的可能性高30% 死于心脏病.他决定放弃他的第一选择, cardiac surgery, 因为“当人们到了那个阶段, 他们已经经历了最糟糕的结果."
此外,他还想和黑人社区的人建立联系.
"Most of the African American patients I see have probably never seen professionals who look like they do," Robinson said.
Early in his career, he participated in health fairs at Black churches. 正是在那里,他与美国心脏协会建立了联系. 二十年后, Robinson has just finished his term as president of the Eastern States Board of the AHA and is past president of the AHA's Greater Washington Region Board.
Dr. 罗宾逊是心脏健康的倡导者和拥护者. He stands behind the AHA's legislative priorities and connects with policymakers in DC. He has been a part of major events like last year's Congressional fly-in that supported nutritional security programming in the Farm Bill as well as access to AEDs.
作为一个值得信赖的声音, 他一直支持美国心脏协会的使命, 吸引不同的受众, 包括外部组织,如Links Incorporated, 黑人心脏病专家和黑人医生协会.org.
"The association had a platform of health equity before it became a catchphrase," he said. "Your ZIP code can impact your health – not just how you eat and how sedentary you might be, whether you're living in squalor or where air quality might not be good. Or maybe you live in a food desert where it's hard to get fresh foods, 或者去一个你不敢出去走走的地方."
罗宾逊像对待家人一样对待病人.
“这是一项团队运动,”他提醒他们. “没有你的参与,我做不到. 世上没有灵丹妙药."
他认为自己是一个积极的人, but he gets frustrated when patients keep making the same negative choices. 然而,他们还是会回到他身边,通常是指朋友和亲戚. 他的病人中也包括一些前教授.
“这些推荐说明他们有多信任你," said Robinson, who makes a point before he heads home for the day to call patients who might be awaiting test results or who are nervous about their condition.
“我感到谦卑和欣慰."
他不厌其烦地和病人谈论心脏健康. Because – like the woman in her 70s who told Robinson she listened to him, 减掉了20磅,感觉好多了——他们 are listening.