Published on August 06, 2010

Adventist Hospitals Receive Grant to Expand Access to Breast Cancer Screening for Underserved  

Grant Allows Shady Grove Adventist and Washington Adventist Hospitals to Provide Free Breast Cancer Screenings to Local Women

Rockville, Md. – Shady Grove Adventist and Washington Adventist Hospitals have received a $30,000 grant from the Avon Foundation to support expanded access to breast cancer screenings in the local community.  The one-year grant is part of the Avon Breast Health Outreach Program (BHOP), which works to link medically underserved women to breast health education and screening services.

“We are grateful to the Avon Foundation for helping us continue our mission of serving our community,” said Judy Lichty Regional Director of Health and Wellness for Adventist HealthCare.  “This grant is being used to provide comprehensive breast cancer screening and education to underserved, low-income and minority women in Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick Counties.”

Avon BHOP grant specifically supports programs that:

• Recruit women for both first time screening and annual screening;
• Develop partnerships between community-based outreach providers and local medical providers;
• Work with health care providers to ensure proper clinical follow-up of abnormal screening results; and
• Educate older women (> 65 years old) about Medicare coverage of annual screening mammograms and assist them in obtaining the service from providers who accept Medicare.

The BHOP program has provided over $50 million through more than 800 grants to community-based, non-profit breast health programs since 1993.

Adventist HealthCare is specifically using the 2010 grant to provide screening and educational services to local underserved women.  The Avon grant has allowed Adventist HealthCare to provide breast screening and education to more than 11,000 local women since 2003.

“Important factors such as lack of treatment and delay of treatment can contribute to disparities in breast cancer rates among women,” notes Marcos Pesquera, Executive Director of the Adventist HealthCare Center on Health Disparities.  “The Avon grant is helping us expand access to important screenings and treatment for women in our community who are underserved.”

Adventist HealthCare, an integrated health care delivery organization based in Rockville, Maryland, is one of the largest employers in the state of Maryland.  The mission of Adventist HealthCare is to demonstrate God’s care by improving the health of people and communities through a ministry of physical, mental and spiritual healing. Adventist HealthCare includes Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Washington Adventist Hospital, Adventist Behavioral Health Services, Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland, Adventist Senior Living Services, Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Adventist Home Health Services, the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children, and LifeWork Strategies.