'More than just cutting hair': IU Health program brings medical screenings to barbershops

The snip snip snip of hair clippers rivals the music playing from a mounted TV on the bright blue wall, keeping the mood upbeat for patrons gathered inside All in the Wrists Barbershop just north of downtown Indianapolis

While most patrons visit the shop in a modest brick building to keep their hair looking sharp, Marvin Taylor, owner and a barber of 30 years, says much of the work he does isn't from behind his barber chair.

"Being a barber encompasses so much more than just cutting hair and getting to the next person," he said. "It's about what we can give back. And we've gotten away from that."

People often wave and shout out a greeting as they walk by the shop that he's owned for seven years. Taylor says he knows everyone from "16th Street up to 30th and Keystone over to Kenwood."

Taylor, who grew up in the neighborhood, views himself as a community service provider. From the time he was young, he drew inspiration from the man who was his barber and would then become his mentor, Elise Campbell, a stoic community figure and barbering legend.

"I used to sit in his shop and I would watch the barbers cut hair," Taylor said. "I'd watch them the same way that a young person would watch Michael Jordan or LeBron James play basketball, with that kind of awe."

As a teenager, Taylor promised Campbell he'd work for him. Once he received his barbering license, he fulfilled that promise, watching and learning from Campbell.

For the next 20 years, Taylor witnessed what a barber could provide for a community, outside of haircuts and beard trims. Campbell instilled in Taylor the idea that a barbershop can be a safe haven. Sure, it can provide a hair trim, but it can also deliver so much more.

So when Calvin Sanders, a customer of Taylor's and a health equity manager with IU Health, approached him about a new barbershop initiative called iHEART, Taylor was all in.

The IU Health initiative places community health workers inside barbershops to offer blood pressure screenings in hopes of educating the public about their vital health statistics. IU Health plans to focus on three Indianapolis neighborhoods considered to be medically underserved, including Meadows/Martindale-Brightwood, the United Northwest Area/Riverside and the Near Southeast Side.

"There are a lot of people who don't have the resources or are apprehensive about doctors' offices," Taylor said. "So people can come here, in a laid back environment, and get their blood pressure checked, and get resources and help to other things they may not have access to."

'Free, free, free, free'

Sitting at a small table just inside the door at Taylor's barbershop, Kristina Hargrove, a community health worker for IU Health, carries on a conversation with a shop patron. The two laugh as they get to know each other.

Atop the table is a small blood pressure machine and pamphlets on hypertension.

"We're here today to really inform the community about their numbers," Hargrove said. "Like I always say, everybody needs somebody. I'm not diagnosing you, but I'll let you know your numbers."

Knowledge is power, Hargrove says. And this knowledge is, "Free, free, free, free," she likes to say.

Standing beside Hargrove is Tyrone Humphrey, IU Health's director of community outreach and engagement. He says Hargrove and the other community health workers are key to the new initiative.

"They are instrumental with assisting patients with additional resources and in some cases, financial resources," Humphrey said. "We've had situations where we've had individuals that can't afford their medication but we go as far as trying to figure out insurance if there's a potential opportunity to reduce the cost."

Humphrey says community health workers not only screen for high blood pressure but also help provide resources for those seeking child care, having transportation issues, or who need clothing. They've helped mothers find baby formula, and they've gotten medication prices reduced from $600 to free.

The success of this initiative will lie in the follow-up and the follow-through, Humphrey said.

As of the end of October, more than 100 community members have been screened since the screenings began July 1. Of those, 78 people screened positive for hypertension, three were in a hypertensive emergency.

IU Health's community health workers also visit community centers and food pantries in the hope of reaching more people. An additional nearly 1,000 blood pressure screenings have been conducted at sites other than barbershops.

"Blood pressure is a silent killer in the Black community," Hargrove said. "At least you'll know. That's where I'm a stepping stone, and I'm going to push."

'It's about what we can give back'

Steps away from Hargrove, Taylor is finishing up a client's beard trim. Spanning Taylor's right forearm is a tattoo, hair clippers inscribed with a Bible verse. He says the verse, Isaiah 54:17, reminds him of the importance of his job.

"Every time I get weak, every time I feel like I need a redirection, it's this right here for me," Taylor said as he looked down at his arm. "This is what I am. This is what I do."

After the trim, Taylor settles up with his client and makes his way outside. On his way, he walks past three framed photos of his mentor, Campbell, hanging on the wall. Taylor says he hung them in his shop before he even brought in his first barber chair when he opened his shop seven years ago.

Outside he makes his way a few hundred feet west down the sidewalk on West 22nd Street to where a group of men have gathered. He invites them to visit the shop for a free screening.

Their brief conversation saw handshakes and laughter, and finished with Taylor and one man, James Larry, making their way back to the shop.

"If he asks, I'll do anything," Larry said. "Especially for him."

Contact IndyStar photojournalist Mykal McEldowney at 317-790-6991 or mykal.mceldowney@indystar.com. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU Health introduces Barbershop health screenings in Indianapolis