Promise awarded $44,251 for breast cancer screenings, education

Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center, Iowa | Federally Qualified Health Center serving northwest Iowa | Promise offers medical care, prenatal care, behavioral healthcare, population health care, health coaching as well as dental and vision care.

01 May

Promise Community Health Center’s Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project strives to remove barriers – whether financial, transportation, cultural or language – that women may face for receiving lifesaving breast cancer screenings and awareness.

That effort has been made possible thanks to funding from Susan G. Komen for a Cure.

Representatives from the Greater Iowa affiliate visited Promise today (Tuesday, May 1) to award the health center a $44,251 grant for its 2018-19 project. This is the seventh straight year that the Komen organization – which combats breast cancer through research, community education, and preventative care and treatment – has supported Promise’s Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project. The new grant year began April 1.

The project’s goals are to increase breast health awareness and education and reduce the incidence of breast cancer in the region. Community outreach events will be offered. Free mammograms and follow-up diagnostic procedures will be provided for women who qualify. Transportation barriers will be overcome.

This year, the Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project is expanding to include O’Brien County in addition to Sioux and Lyon counties.

“I am thrilled to hear that Promise is the recipient of the Komen grant for 2018 and 2019,” said Emily Tuschen, chief operating officer for Promise and the project director. “This grant directly provides resources for our patients, whether it is for a free mammogram, ultrasound, transportation assistance or patient education. Reducing patient barriers is one of Promise’s primary goals.”

Komen’s grant award to Promise is a two-pronged approach:

$6,471 of the funding will focus on community needs through multifaceted, bilingual education and awareness efforts. Promise providers will educate every woman between the ages of 40-65 during their well-woman visits about breast health, emphasize the importance of annual mammograms and provide clinical breast exams. Trained interpreters will be used to reach Spanish-speaking patients. Community outreach events will be organized with the assistance of partner organizations in Sioux, Lyon and O’Brien countries to encourage women to receive preventative care and to make them aware of the free mammograms and other services available. Promise also will reach out to large employers in each of those counties.

$37,780 of the funding will be used to remove financial barriers that women face for receiving lifesaving breast cancer screenings. For women who do not have insurance coverage or are underinsured, Promise will be able to schedule up to 65 free annual mammograms and up to 19 free follow-up diagnostic services for those with abnormal screening results or breast cancer symptoms. Promise is partnering with Sioux Center Health and Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera of Rock Valley as the locations for those screenings. Promise also will address transportation barriers through arranging for rides for patients who need it or by offering gas gift cards.

Promise has been awarded nearly $200,000 over seven years through the Komen grant

program. In the first six years, about 350 women have received free mammograms. If not for the grant, many of them likely would not have been served due to cost.

“It has been a joy to be a part of the Komen grant program for the past few years,” Tuschen said. “Promise has continued to develop and fine-tune both the internal processes and the external outreach programs every year. Each year, we re-evaluate our goals and increase our numbers to push our outreach measures and patient numbers. Our goal for the Komen grant is reach as many women as possible and increase their access to proper breast health.”

Jessica Nelsen, mission director for Komen Greater Iowa, said the organization was impressed by Promise’s track record with its Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project and its plans for the coming year.

“Promise has worked really hard to build relationships in the community and to build trust within the Hispanic population especially,” Nelsen said, noting a lot of people don’t realize that northwest Iowa has a large Hispanic population. “It was a highly competitive grant year, but Promise definitely looked at the continuum of care and how to bring women in and make them feel comfortable and make sure they follow through on their care. They looked at the most vulnerable populations and had a strong plan on how to target them and include them in the work that they’re doing.”

Promise was among five organizations awarded nearly $330,000 in new community grants from Susan G. Komen Greater Iowa for 2018-19. The other organizations awarded were Polk County Health Department in Des Moines, One Iowa in Des Moines, Jennie Edmundson Hospital of Council Bluffs and Genesis Health System of Davenport.

“To meet needs we have discovered right here in the communities we serve, this year’s grant slate will fund critical caps in screening, treatment and education and will help minimize barriers women face in accessing the services they need to stay healthy,” said Jenny Brinkmeyer, executive director of the Greater Iowa affiliate. “We are proud to be able to distribute the funds we raise throughout the year, through events like Race for the Cure, to these worthy organizations.”

Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit while providing real-time help to those facing the disease. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the U.S. by 2026. Komen was founded in 1982 by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life. Komen Greater Iowa is working to better the lives of those facing breast cancer in the local community. For more information, call 877-745-6636 or visit www.komengreateriowa.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

If you have any questions about Promise Community Health Center’s Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project, contact Emily Tuschen at 712-722-1700 or etuschen@promisechc.org.