GETTING TO KNOW SHIRLEY

JACKSON WHITAKER, MD, MPH

Is your pressure less than 140/90? If not, why not! Demand it from yourself. Get it checked! Get it right!

Q: Dr. Whitaker can you tell us briefly about yourself.

A: Well, I am the seventh child of Charlie Mae and Eddie Jackson, Sr. from a small Georgia town called Waycross. My father worked for the railroad and my mother was a homemaker. They were strict about church, education and community. You were in church every Sunday. You were not allowed to bring home grades less that a B on your report card, and you respected everyone, especially “your elders” in what you said and how you acted. I completed my training in public health and medicine in several different programs. I have practiced medicine in western Massachusetts for over twelve years. I am presently in a private Nephrology practice after years of working in community medicine. I live in Amherst with my husband, who is a Math professor at Umass, and our son.

Q: Where did you do your educational training?

A: I attended Clark Atlanta University, Yale University, Emory University School of Medicine and received the core of my internal medicine and kidney (Nephrology) training at the University of California at Davis and completed my training at Oregon Health Science University in Portland.

Q: What is a Nephrologist?

A: A Nephrologist or Kidney Specialist is a person who treats high blood pressure, kidney stones, corrects electrolytes (potassium, calcium, sodium, etc), treats various kidney problems caused by diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, etc. and manages the care of patients on dialysis.

Q: What does the kidney have to do with blood pressure?

A: Everything!! The kidney is the “Big Regulator” of blood pressure. Very few people know this. People’s knowledge about the kidney is so limited. That is one thing I want to do--educate people about what the kidney does for them. Not only does it regulate your blood pressure, but it also cleanses your blood. The kidney is your own little washing machine. You know what happens when you have no way to wash your clothes. They smell!! The same thing happens on the inside of your body when the kidney stops working. The only thing is the bad smell is now in the form of bad blood from the poisons that built up. It can lead to death if dialysis is not instituted.

Q: What are you working on presently?

A: Well, I am on a campaign to educate people about the kidney. It will be under the banner of “Kidney W.I.S.E. Saves Lives.” The W.I.S.E. stand for Wellness Initiative: Screening and Education. There will be a series of events leading up to a massive screening planned for October 2007. These events will include “Healthy Food and Hot Fashion Show, initiation of a Springfield’s Kidney Wise Kids program to teach kids about high blood pressure and how to take their family members’ blood pressure and other events.

Q: This sounds like a major project. Are you working on it by yourself?

A: I am pleased to say NO! Western New England Renal and Transplant Associates is a large kidney group located in Springfield that has been very supportive. They share my concerns about the worsening of kidney disease and high blood pressure in the Springfield community and have organized a team of people to help with the project.

One part of the Kidney WISE project is to make sure every person in Springfield knows what a normal blood pressure should be and what to do if it is not normal. The African American Veterans of Western Mass. have offered to work with me to try and make it possible to measure blood pressure in barbershops and beauty salons throughout Springfield.

Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris of the Springfield Health Department has been very helpful. She thinks it is a challenging idea but a needed one.

Q: If someone wants to contact you, how can they do that?

A: I am now taking patients. I have offices in Springfield, Amherst and soon in Deerfield. I can be reached by phone at 413-733-9666 or 413-549-0044 or by mail directed to Shirley Whitaker, MD, c/o WNERTA, 300 Birnie Ave Suite 300, Springfield, Mass 01107. My web page: kidneywisesaveslives will be available February 1, 2007. n