A mobile mammography unit to offer breast cancer screenings to
low-income women in Santa Clara County is making its debut this
week at health clinics.
Morgan Hill – A mobile mammography unit to offer breast cancer screenings to low-income women in Santa Clara County is making its debut this week at health clinics.
The newly leased equipment is part of the Community Mammography Access Project, a partnership between the county’s hospital system and a network of non-profit health organizations called the Community Health Partnership.
The goal of the program is to expand access of mammograms to uninsured women ages 40 and older who rely on Medi-Cal and Family PACT benefits. The California Cancer Detection Program also provides subsidies for screenings.
According to the California Cancer Registry, 30 percent of all breast cancer detentions among low-income women are diagnosed as late-state cancers.
“Too many women die of breast cancer because they find out about it too late,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, who spearheaded the program. “Now, previously under-served women throughout the county will be able to get mammograms at community clinics in their neighborhoods.”
The mobile mammography unit will visit 18 clinics during the year, including Gardner South County Health Center in Gilroy on April 16 and July 9.
“We’re tightening the cracks to keep uninsured women from falling through,” said Shermineh Jafarieh, the project’s coordinator. “We’re linking under-served women to a provider they may not have.”
Jafarieh expects the program to serve 2,800 women with screening services this year.
Since 2001, Kniss has helped build support for the program among women’s health advocates. Pilot programs in 2002 and 2003 showed low-income women are more likely to show up at neighborhood clinics for mammograms than at fixed-site. The no-show rate for clinics was 3 to 5 percent compared to 20 to 30 percent at fixed-site providers. Based on the pilots, U.S. Representative Mike Honda (D-San Jose) helped secure $300,000 in funding for the project. Additionally, the board of supervisors allocated one-time funding of $129,000 last June.
“We as a community are creating innovative programs to meet the needs of high risk populations,” said Reymundo Espinoza, CEO for Gardner Family Health Network, a non-profit operator of five clinics in the county. “We are committed to making sure our patients have access to mammography services as part of their primary care.”
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the county’s main public hospital, is offering technical services for the project and will provide follow-up treatment to women as needed.
CLINIC DATES
- March 20, 9am-3pm, San Jose Foothill Family Community Clinic, 2448 Story Road, San Jose
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March 22, 9am-3pm, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, 225 San Antonio Road, Mountain View
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April 16, 9am-3pm, Gardner South County Health Center, 700 W. Sixth St., Ste. F, Gilroy.
Additional dates and locations for North and South County through the end of 2007 can be viewed on the master event calendar at www.chpscc.org/whpCMAP.htm
Tony Burchyns is a staff writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at (408) 779-4106 or at tb*******@sv**********.com.
