22 Mar
by Derrick Vander Waal
SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is committed to increasing breast health education and awareness and reducing the incidence of breast cancer in the region by providing access to free lifesaving screenings.
SIOUX CENTER, IOWA – Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center is committed to increasing breast health education and awareness and reducing the incidence of breast cancer in the region by providing access to free lifesaving screenings.
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Siouxland Affiliate is enhancing that effort for the fifth straight year. The Siouxland Affiliate awarded Promise a $18,994 grant during an award ceremony Monday evening in Sioux City.
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| Derrick Vander Waal and Nancy Dykstra of Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center receive a check for $18,994 from Missy Gomez on behalf of the Siouxland G. Komen for the Cure Siouxland Affiliate during a grant award ceremony Monday, March 21, at Minervas Food & Cocktails in Sioux City. The grant will support Promise’s Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana breast health awareness and cancer prevention project. |
The grant will support Promise’s Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana project for the 2016-17 grant year, which begins April 1. The project includes breast health education and awareness efforts, free mammograms and follow-up diagnostic procedures for women who qualify, and rides to screenings for those who lack transportation.
“Promise is honored to receive the Susan G. Komen Siouxland Affiliate grant,” said Vicki Schrock, clinic manager for Promise. “This grant greatly impacts our patients and community members in Lyon and Sioux counties with free mammograms and breast health services. As a team of providers at Promise, we’re honored to be able to offer this option and increase access to these important screenings.”
A portion of the grant funding will be used for bilingual education and awareness efforts about breast health, cancer prevention measures and screening opportunities in the target area of Sioux and Lyon counties. Community education events and small-group sessions will be arranged for women throughout the year. Partner organizations, such as Community Health Partners of Sioux County, Sioux County Latino Health Coalition and Health Services of Lyon County, will be instrumental in bringing groups of women together and assisting in those outreach efforts.
During well-woman visits, Promise’s providers will educate every woman between the ages of 40-65 about breast health, teach them how to do self breast exams, emphasize the importance of annual mammograms and provide clinical breast exams. Trained interpreters will be used to reach Spanish-speaking patients.
Promise also will schedule free mammogram screenings for women ages 40-65 who do not have insurance coverage for that service or are underinsured. Sioux Center Health and Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera have served as locations for Promise’s participants to receive their mammograms. Free follow-up diagnostic procedures also will be provided to women who have abnormal screening results or breast cancer symptoms.
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| Women gather to hear about various health issues at a Sister to Sister/Hermana a Hermana Women’s Health Event put on last year by Promise Community Health Center of Sioux Center. A grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Siouxland Affiliate will help boost Promise’s awareness efforts for breast health education and cancer prevention. |
A new focus of the grant project this year will be on providing transportation for women to initial clinical breast exams, mammograms and follow-up diagnostic services. Komen’s Siouxland Affiliate had identified transportation as a particular barrier for Lyon County women, who have a higher incidence rate for breast cancer. Promise’s outreach team will use its experience in arranging for transportation and its network of volunteers and partner organizations to provide those rides. The grant will provide mileage reimbursement to enhance the effort of securing transportation volunteers.
The Pink Out Breast Cancer Awareness night that Promise has co-hosted with Dordt College’s volleyball team has become a signature outreach event supported through the Susan G. Komen grant. That volleyball match will be during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Promise has been awarded nearly $135,000 over five years through the grant program. In the first four years, nearly 250 women have received mammograms. If not for the grant, cost likely would have prevented many of them from being served.
“This is a great grant because it allows women to have access to breast health without the cost barrier,” Schrock said. “A lot of women do utilize this grant. They know we have it, so it helps with the continuity of care.”
Komen’s Siouxland Affiliate has granted $1.2 million over the past 10 years to organizations in a seven-county service area in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to combat breast cancer. This year, it awarded $46,000 to four organizations. The three other organizations were: Winnebago Public Health Nursing, $5,070; June E. Nylen Cancer Center, $10,103; and Siouxland District Health Department, $11,833.
“We would just like to continue to raise more and more funds so that when we have these grant applicants every year we can finance every dollar that they want to carry on their projects,” said Melissa Gomez, grant chairwoman, during Monday’s ceremony.
Promise Community Health Center, headquartered in Sioux Center, is the only Federally Qualified Health Center in the far northwest corner of Iowa. Promise provides medical, dental, prenatal and behavioral health services. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org.
WANT TO HELP?
Promise Community Health Center welcomes volunteers to provide transportation for women to breast health screenings. Reimbursement for mileage will be provided.
“If this cause tugs at your heartstrings and you don’t know how you can help, this is a great way that you can help,” said Vicki Schrock, clinic manager. “We could use some volunteer drivers.”
For more information, contact Promise community care coordinator Jessica Mora at 712-722-1700.
