Buried deep in a South Jersey industrial park is an unusual tenant. It's not the normal setting for a medical clinic, but this practice is not your typical doctor's office.
The Cherry Hill Free Clinic provides free primary care and specialty care to adults who cannot afford health insurance. The services range from cancer screenings to social needs like food, transportation and housing — all of which can affect a person's health. The patients come from throughout New Jersey, some traveling two hours to see one of several volunteer clinicians.
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Dr. Jubril Oyeyemi, a primary care physician with a passion for caring founded the clinic in 2017. As a young internist treating patients in the hospital, he was moved by what he called "catastrophic cases," patients who had suffered a second heart attack or stroke, often because they couldn't afford their medications or a doctor's visit. The cases triggered a call to action for Oyeyemi. And so, what started as a place for the uninsured to fill their prescriptions quickly transformed into a full-fledged medical practice as the need ballooned.
Since then, the clinic has become an award-winning beacon of hope for many, delivering more than 8,000 patient visits and more than 1,200 lab studies, and these figures continue to grow thanks to an increasing number of dedicated volunteers.
Oyeyemi's men's health clinic
In June 2023, Oyeyemi faced another motivational moment. A 56-year-old male restaurant worker came to the clinic complaining of back and hip pain which had gone undiagnosed and untreated for an extended time, a situation influenced by the demands of his job and a culture of masculinity that causes men to put off care until the pain gets too severe to ignore.
The team at the Cherry Hill Clinic discovered the man had stage 4 colon cancer, a diagnosis coming far too late. The case sparked a new mission for Oyeyemi and his team. They committed to changing the male narrative, stopping the silent suffering that they had witnessed, and letting every man know that he does not stand alone on his health journey. In January, a monthly, full-day men's clinic was born targeting men 45 and older. No fancy lounge chairs or sports paraphernalia, just an open door and welcoming staff.
To date, men account for about 160 patients per month, with around 60% sticking with their pledge to continue regular care. Oyeyemi's experience demonstrates that male norms have no economic boundaries. The masculine culture of care avoidance found in those with insurance coverage and access to care is equally present in the uninsured population. The profile will sound familiar.
According to Oyeyemi, his male patients are most likely to come in because their wives have demanded they do so, or they are experiencing erectile dysfunction. Men recovering from a heart attack or stroke also are commonly represented. Some have not had any lab work in 30 years. Many have never had a colonoscopy or prostate exam.
Oyeyemi told me how he sees manly men like landscapers or machinists get a petrified look on their faces at the thought of a rectal exam. One guy's heart rate jumped to 160 just talking about it! So much for being a tough guy, but it's a reaction consistent among men from all walks of life.
Building trust
Oyeyemi's approach to his male patients is grounded in building trust. Getting his patients to commit to healthy behaviors is as much about social communication as medical messaging, he says. While offering free care helps to jumpstart the relationship, he focuses on getting to know the person as much as the patient. A common tactic is motivational interviewing, a technique in which physicians talk to their patients about their interests and their priorities to build trust and learn what might inspire them to live healthy.
One of Oyeyemi's patients, Domingo, who agreed to share his story, is a 40-year-old chef and restaurant worker whoawas persuaded to come to the clinic by his two brothers, who are patients. Domingo had been living with hoarseness in his voice for about six months and was losing weight. He thought it wasn't serious and would just go away. He saw no need to come in.
Fortunately for Domingo, his brothers prevailed. It turned out that Domingo had a mass on his vocal cords, which was non-cancerous. It's a another classic tale of a man who felt no need to get help but avoided a larger problem by doing so.
Courting men
Oyeyemi's clinic is one small installment in what has become a national effort to get men to see a doctor. Commonly led by urologists and directed at emotionally charged conditions like erectile dysfunction or prostate conditions, prominent institutions like NYU Langone Health and Mount Siani Health System in New York, the Cleveland Clinic and UCLA Medical Center have all established clinics devoted to the nuances of treating men.
And while Oyeyemi's clinic may not offer the luxury accommodations of some of these more noteworthy centers, there's a commonality which is fascinating. At the end of the day, it's all about the basics: annual check-ups, a little blood work, a periodic colonoscopy and the like. No mater what your income, it's about recognizing the importance of your health and acting on it.
Oyeyemi told me that he's playing the long game when he treats his male patients. He may not get them to change their habits after one or two visits, but as he builds trust and gets to know them – and they get to know him – they may just begin to consider his advice. As the relationship grows, the men are more likely to take their medications diligently and maybe even eat better. Medical visits that include attention to the man's quality of life, and his family rounds out this doctor's portfolio of strategies. We should all be so lucky to have a physician like Jubril Oyeyemi.
Louis Bezich, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Cooper University Health Care, is author of "Crack The Code: 10 Proven Secrets that Motivate Healthy Behavior and Inspire Fulfillment in Men Over 50." Read more from Louis on his website.