Clabby, Catherine. "Investigating Heart Health for Lumbee Women." North Carolina Health News. April 7, 2017.
Tona Jacobs, the principal of Pembroke Elementary School and part of the Lumbee Tribe, recently found that she has heart issues. Being an American Indian puts women at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular problems. One factor could be environmental exposures. Jada Lynn Brooks, an assistant professor of nursing at UNC-Chapel Hill, is also Lumbee. She is researching why Lumbee women have such a high risk of heart disease. Brooks is recruiting 120 Lumbee tribal women to study blood samples and EPA air pollution samples. Martin Luther Brooks, a Lumbee physician, is also on Brook’s advising team. In his practice, he has observed that thumb women re not getting the access to healthcare that they need. Brooks says, "'There is so much that could come from this study — to help people my age but also to better educate our children… We need to put things in place to help our children’” (para. 32).