Women in Wichita, Manhattan and Pittsburg will soon be able to get their annual mammogram in a mobile van parked at their workplace or near their home or church as Ascension Via Christi’s new mobile mammography vehicle is received and becomes operational.
Research has shown that many women put off breast cancer screening exams because of scheduling problems or difficulty getting to a screening site, says Keisha Humphries, Ascension Via Christi’s director of Oncology Services.
“Early detection is the key to better outcomes,” Humprhies said. “Our goal is to increase the number of women who get timely screening.”
Ascension Via Christi is working now to identify community partners who are willing to be host sites for the mobile mammography van. Businesses, churches and other community organizations interested in hosting an on-site screening event should call 316-268-5890.
“We are scheduling sites now so that once we are up and running the unit will be fully utilized,” says Humphries.
The 41-foot-by-8.5-foot vehicle, funded in part by the Via Christi Foundation, will feature a registration area, two self-contained private dressing rooms and an exam space, providing ample room for the registrar and mammography tech who will staff it and the patients it will serve.
“We are scheduling sites now so that once we are up and running the unit will be fully utilized,” says Humphries.
The 41-foot-by-8.5-foot vehicle, funded in part by the Via Christi Foundation, will feature a registration area, two self-contained private dressing rooms and an exam space, providing ample room for the registrar and mammography tech who will staff it and the patients it will serve.
“We are expecting delivery of our unit some time in July and plan to be on the road soon after,” says Dave Degenhardt, director of Radiology for Ascension Via Christi in Wichita.
According to the most recent data available, seven in 10 Kansas women ages 40 and over have had a mammogram within the past two years. One in eight U.S. women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
The national Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends addressing non-economic burdens and obstacles to breast cancer screening by reducing the time or distance between service delivery settings and target populations; modifying hours of service to meet client needs; and offering services in alternative or non-clinical settings such as mobile mammography vans at worksites or in residential communities.
“We will be employing all three of these recommendations with the addition of mobile mammography,” says Degenhardt.