FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 21, 2024) — Coretta Scott King once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the kind actions of its members.”
On a warm Saturday in June, First Baptist Church of Frankfort opened its doors to more than 500 people from the community and focused on their health and wellness as part of Dr. Rosby L. Glover’s fourth annual Community Unity event, a day of fun, food, music and awareness.
The outcome of this effort is an extension of collaborations with key community partners, including Capital City Activity Center, Meals on Wheels Greater Frankfort, Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension and the University of Kentucky.
“This day is an effort to bring the whole community together and foster fellowship, but also to raise awareness of physical health, diabetes and other health issues,” said Bishop TiAngelo Hill, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Frankfort. “It means we’re doing our job. It means we’re reaching beyond the walls of our church to help all of humanity.”
The event is held in memory of the church’s late pastor, Rev. Dr. Rosby L. Glover, whose mission was to be an advocate for the Frankfort community, children and families.
“This has been our vision, and I’m pleased that Frankfort will continue my husband’s mission of serving the community and its families,” said first lady Kimberly Glover.
The compassion for Frankfort is evident when speaking with people behind events like Glover’s.
“The reason people care about this event is because when we come together, we’re all just human beings,” Glover said, “It brings out love for one another, regardless of race or nationality, and shows how much we care, and lets people know that the church is here to help those in need.”
As part of an effort to share important health information with community members, the church offered free health screenings for visitors. The Lions Club assisted with diabetes screenings and the Franklin County Health Department donated testing materials and time to screen blood pressure.
Tents and tables lined the church’s car park and nearby Clinton Street showcasing services from a variety of health-focused organizations, including the UK’s Sanders Brown Centre for Ageing Research and its Engaged Ageing Lab, the UK University of Health Sciences’ Physiotherapy Programme, the REFOCUS research team and the UK Martin Gatton University of Agriculture, Food and the Environment Cooperative Extension Service.
It’s an approach UK researchers and clinicians took intentionally to address the specific needs of the Frankfort community, a city that once had the second-highest rate in the nation for Alzheimer’s disease among African-American adults, among other health issues.
The partnership is significant to Elizabeth Rodas, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Sanders Brown University and UK Medical School.
“We connected with Dr. Glover several years ago to think about how we could provide better care, access and resources to people in our community,” Rodas said. “We’re excited to see this partnership grow.”
Saturday’s event is an extension of Sanders Brown’s partnership with First Baptist Church of Frankfort. Researchers meet monthly with church members to address community needs. It’s part of Rodas’ Engaged Aging Lab, which brings lessons learned in research and clinical settings into the community to address health disparities.
Rodas and her team provide support and resources for Alzheimer’s and dementia through their research focused on everyday activities that support healthy brain aging, dementia patient care, and community participatory research for health equity. They use practical methods and everyday items to help people live healthier lives and reduce their risk of disease.
“We’re focused on educating people about five key areas to reduce their risk of dementia: sleep, nutrition, exercise, novelty – doing new things – and socializing. These are great for the brain,” said Celeste Roberts, research program manager at the Engaged Aging Lab.
On the table, Roberts had placed a bottle of lavender-scented lotion and an oil timer — simple objects that, as Roberts explained, can help relax the mind and body through aromatherapy and visual stimulation.
She and April Stauffer of Sanders Brown answered questions from people who had been hanging out at their table for hours, and they handed out helpful flyers on a variety of brain health topics.
“It’s important to have conversations about what people can do for themselves every day and provide them with the tools they need to ask the right questions about their health,” Roberts said. “Unity in the Community gives us the opportunity to start that conversation.”
On Clinton Street in downtown Frankfort, physical therapy students appeared to be playing games with participants who stopped by their tables when, in reality, they were administering fall risk and balance assessments they use in the clinic: the step-square test and the timed chair rise test.
“Depending on your score, we can determine if you are at high risk for falls and provide you with information that can help you,” said Sheila Clemens, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences. “This is an area that is at risk of being underserved and may not get this information elsewhere, so we’re pleased to be able to provide this easy access.”
The next booth focused on engaging members of the Black community in research, part of the Study Examining Factors Associated with the Opioid Crisis Among Underserved African Americans (REFOCUS) project led by Danelle Stevens Watkins, PhD, assistant dean and professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology.
“We participated in this event to educate the community about opioid overdoses,” said Mona Goggins, a research assistant with REFOCUS. While drug overdose deaths in Kentucky fell overall for the first time since 2018, there was an 8% increase in overdose deaths among Black Kentuckians in 2023. “But our hope is that people will participate in our study to raise awareness and gather information to improve treatment in the Black community.”
Though the project is primarily focused on Lexington and Louisville, REFOCUS representatives said guests are “getting what they need from the table,” from education to sharing stories to seeing themselves represented in research efforts.
“I think if we try to only look at treatment from one lens, we miss out on so many different groups in the population. I think it’s important to recognize the different cultural contexts and factors that lead people to experience opioid use in their lives,” said Deasia Beard, a research assistant with REFOCUS.
UK Cooperative Extension Service is a longtime partner in this community effort, and Sanders-Brown works closely with Carla Carter, family and consumer science extension agent for the Franklin County Extension Office.
A longtime member of First Baptist Church of Frankfort, Carter helps coordinate monthly workshops at the church and was the organizer of Dr. Rosby L. Glover’s “Unity in the Community.”
The event featured artwork that took a holistic approach to community health, focusing on a wide range of age groups. In addition to health screenings for the senior population, the church donated 65 bicycles to area children to promote health and exercise, doubling its previous donation goal.
It took a strong collaborative spirit from the team putting on the event and the team at First Baptist Church of Frankfort to make such an impact in the nation’s capital.
Rodas and her team know there are health needs in the area that could benefit from targeted resources and outreach combined with a variety of research approaches, and the team shares similar goals with First Baptist Church of Frankfort.
“Let’s literally build unity within all of these communities to support every individual, no matter where they are in the aging process, from early childhood through old age,” Rodas said. “Let’s customize the health components they need to support a healthy, active lifestyle.”
Where to find more information
Research reported in this publication was supported by Grant Number R01DA049333 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
