Media release from Atrium Health Floyd:
Floyd Healthcare Foundation, an affiliate of Atrium Health Floyd, has been awarded $20,000 from the Georgia Breast Cancer License Plate Fund, a program of the State Office of Rural Health.
The funds, generated from the sale of Breast Cancer Awareness-themed Georgia vehicle license plates, will be used to provide mammography and breast cancer diagnostic testing scholarships for uninsured and under-insured patients who cannot afford these important services.
“With this grant, we are able to continue to provide critical breast cancer prevention services to under-and uninsured women in our area,” said Sarah Husser, Floyd Healthcare Foundation development officer. “Breast Cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. We have to do everything we can to ensure all of our residents have access to education and screenings.”
Atrium Health Floyd is a leader in breast health and rural breast health services, providing mammography results within 24 hours for most of patients and operating two mobile mammography coaches in the area, according to Aimee Griffin, Vice President of Professional Services.
“We provide the only mobile mammography service in this region, bringing advanced breast cancer screening to rural northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama,” Griffin said. “For 17 years, we’ve traveled more than 111,000 miles, performed more than 35,000 screenings and detected 129 cancers, many of which may have gone undiagnosed without this service.”
“While Georgia has increased our breast cancer screening rates, not all women — particularly those without health insurance — receive appropriate screening or treatment,” said Katreena Davis, Program Manager for Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (CORE). “The work this grant supports helps to identify breast cancer at an earlier stage, making treatments more effective.”
Georgia CORE administers the grants on behalf of the State Office of Rural Health in the Department of Community Health. For more information on Georgia CORE’s cancer awareness license plates and the programs they support, visit GaCancerPlates.com.