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COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - EVEN AS MAMMOGRAPHY HAS BECOME MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, BARRIERS SUCH AS LONG DRIVE TIMES, LACK OF TRANSPORTATION AND CHALLENGING WORK SCHEDULES LIMIT ACCESS TO THIS POTENTIALLY LIFESAVING SCREENING EXAM, PARTICULARLY FOR WOMEN WHO RESIDE IN RURAL LOCATIONS. TO ADDRESS THIS NEED WITHIN ITS SERVICE AREA, ATRIUM HEALTH FLOYD LAUNCHED A MOBILE MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICE MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, MAKING BREAST HEALTH CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR WOMEN IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA. THE MOBILE MAMMOGRAPHY COACH IS OUTFITTED WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART, DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY MACHINE AND STAFFED BY FEMALE CLINICIANS WHO ARE SPECIALLY TRAINED IN SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY. THE COACH IS AN ADVANCED BREAST IMAGING SYSTEM ON WHEELS, WITH A SCREENING EXPERIENCE THAT IS SIMILAR TO A PHYSICIAN APPOINTMENT. THE SERVICE IS MANAGED BY THE BREAST CENTER AT ATRIUM HEALTH FLOYD AND CARRIES THE SAME PROMISE OF 24-HOUR RESULTS AFFORDED TO PATIENTS WHO TRAVEL TO THE CENTER FOR CARE. AT THE PROGRAM’S LAUNCH, WOMEN COULD ACCESS SCREENING CARE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES, OFTEN AT THEIR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, AND KNOW THE RESULTS OF THEIR SCREENING WITHIN 24 HOURS. DATA SUGGESTS MANY OF THESE WOMEN WOULD NOT HAVE OTHERWISE BEEN SCREENED AND MAY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO UNDIAGNOSED BREAST CANCER. IN AN EFFORT TO EXPAND THE REACH OF OUR ESTABLISHED AND SUCCESSFUL OUTREACH PROGRAM, AND TO MORE EASILY SERVE LOW INCOME AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, ATRIUM HEALTH FLOYD WILL ADD A SECOND MOBILE MAMMOGRAPHY COACH TO BROADEN OUR GEOGRAPHIC SERVICE AREA AND IMPROVE OVERALL ACCESS TO THE MORE RURAL LOCATIONS WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA. THIS UNIT WILL BE BASED OUT OF OUR NEW FREESTANDING EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT IN CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA AND WILL COMPLEMENT OUR PUSH TO BRING HEALTH SERVICES BACK TO THIS LOW INCOME AND CHRONICALLY UNDERSERVED AREA OF RURAL GEORGIA, WHICH INCLUDES CHATTOOGA COUNTY, AS WELL AS WALKER COUNTY, IMMEDIATELY TO ITS NORTH. LIKE OUR ORIGINAL MOBILE MAMMOGRAPHY COACH, WHICH PERFORMS APPROXIMATELY 2,500 SCREENING EXAMINATIONS EACH YEAR, WE PROJECT THIS ADDITIONAL UNIT WILL ALLOW US TO SERVE A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 5,000 WOMEN EACH YEAR. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL CREATE THREE NEW JOBS WITHIN THE REGION.