Grants expand access to breast health services for low-income and uninsured patients throughout the Charlotte region

Home / Grants expand access to breast health services for low-income and uninsured patients throughout the Charlotte region

2019 was a very important year for breast health services in Charlotte.

Last year, Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation was awarded more than $275,000 in grants to support breast health services in Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews and Mint Hill markets. As a result, Novant Health Cancer Prevention, Education and Early Detection (NHCPED) staff provided 986 low-income, uninsured participants with screening services at 48 community events and diagnosed 14 breast cancers.

NHCPED staff, led by Maria Kuklinski-Long, target low-income and under/uninsured individuals in Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Rowan and Cabarrus counties in North Carolina, as well as York County in South Carolina, for grant-funded screening, education and diagnostic services in an effort to improve access to care and reduce breast cancer mortality.

The breast screening and education program is important for patients like Sandra, who is currently unemployed and has no insurance. She is a patient at Camino Clinic, where clinic staff prequalified Sandra for her first mammogram. The NHCPED breast health educator provided Sandra with breast health information as part of the mammogram screening appointment, including information on the importance of regular mammography screenings. Sandra now plans to schedule annual screening mammograms to identify any potential health threats early.

“Without funders who support uninsured people like me, I would not have had the means to get a mammogram,” Sandra said.

Thanks to ongoing grant support, NHCPED team members can help more patients like Sandra, who do not have insurance and cannot afford preventive health care.