Introduction

The Rose is committed to saving lives through quality breast health services, advocacy, and access to care for all. Since 1986, we have kept true to our mission, serving nearly 800,000 patients regardless of their ability to pay. Our efforts to improve access to care includes outreach to women who reside in communitities with few, if any, mammography screening facilities. The Rose's Mobile Mammography Program is the most extensive program in Texas by geography and volume, which affords patients with the opportunity to receive life-saving screening services where they live, work, and pray.

Our objective is to increase access to breast healthcare for underserved and uninsured women in Southeast Texas by bringing mobile mammography services, with CPRIT funding, to urban and rural communities thereby removing transportation and time barriers to care so that critical breast screening, diagnostic care, and treatment options are made available to all.

Methods

Women across 43 CPRIT counties in Southeast Texas receive 3-D breast screening on one of five mobile mammography coaches.  Mobile hubs in two counties facilitate the service area, minimizing drive time and maximizing appointment scheduling. Follow-up diagnostic care is then provided at one of The Rose's two diagnositic centers. For those diagnosed with breast cancer, patients are guided into treatment.

The continuum of care is initiated by Community Engagement Navigators living in the communities we serve. They are charged with forging partnerships with FQHC's, places of worship, food pantries, hospitals, public health departments, non-profit organizations, and other community collaborators to ensure that breast health services are easily accessible.

Results

Women in underserved communities are prioritizing their breast health and taking advantage of the CPRIT-funded Mobile Mammography Program.

Within the past 15 months:

     -2,998 patients were screened

     -446 women had baseline mammograms

     -577 women received diagnostics

     -31 women received a positive diagnosis

     -9 women receiving a positive diagnosis were baseline

Conclusion

Of the 43 counties served by CPRIT and The Rose, 26 offer only one mammography screening facility or none whatsoever, demonstrating the critical need for breast care in these areas. The Mobile Mammography Program gives women the opportunity to take charge of their breast health at a location that is convenient and familiar to them. In a recent survey, 77% stated they would not have recevied their screening had it not been for a mobile coach. Mobile mammography is an invaluable tool in the fight against breast cancer, bringing much needed services to the women who need assistance the most.