by
Jennifer Kowalewski
For the sixth
consecutive year, the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation has issued a grant to OU-COM’s
Community Service Programs (CSP).
The grant, this
year totaling $54,022, helps to fund CSP’s Healthy Adult
Project, which provides free breast exams for uninsured or
underinsured women. The program’s outreach covers 10 counties in
Southeastern Ohio, largely through the use of CSP’s Mobile
Health Unit. The grant allows women to have breast screenings
that would otherwise not be available.
According to
Janice Smith, Healthy Adult Project coordinator, the program
serves people throughout the community, from school age into
adulthood.
“What the Komen
Foundation allows us to do is see the uninsured or underinsured
who may not have access to health care,” Smith says. “The
foundation requires we see 300 women and reach 400 high school
students. We easily accomplish that through our outreach. We
also have reach 1,400 people through displays at health fairs.
Since it began,
the number of patients CSP sees has steadily grown because of it
mobile clinics, making the Komen grant imperative for those
living in the rural Appalachia. OU-COM began its relationship
with the Komen Foundation in 2000 because of the efforts of
Marty Bayha, an administrative assistant in OU-COM’s
Department of Family Medicine and a breast cancer survivor.
Kathy Trace,
R.N.,
director of CSP, says that the Komen Foundation has given CSP
the ability to grow and serve more people each year through
augmenting the efforts of various programs.
“The foundation
has been a wonderful organization to work with,” Trace says.
The grant allows
not only for more screenings but also for the implementation of
educational programs in high schools, senior centers and other
public locales. CSP believes education is crucial in
establishing healthy lifestyles.
“My main focus,” says Anne
Pearch, CSP community health nurse coordinator, “is to make
the clients aware of the health issues facing women whether it’s
related to heart problems, breast cancer or cervical cancer.”
Pearch has spent her last eight years concentrating on women’s
health.
“Much of what we do is to
provide education to high school students about the importance
of learning how to do a self breast exam and having annual
gynecological exams. Breast health education shouldn’t start at
age 40,” she says.
In addition to
free screenings and education, the Healthy Adult Project refers
women to doctors who donate their services or will employ a
sliding scale for patient payments. The program also screens
community members for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes
and heart disease.
The Komen
Foundation is hosting its annual Race for the Cure in Columbus
Saturday May 20. The race is one of the foundation’s
fundraisers. OU-COM is putting together a team to participate in
the event. Anyone interested in participating in the race or
wishes to donate to the OU-COM team should contact Trace at
(740) 593-9364.
“This is one way
we can show our support and appreciation for all that the Komen
Foundation does in this area,” Trace says.
The Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was founded as a promise between
Nancy Goodman Brinker, and her sister, Susan Goodman Komen, who
died of breast cancer at age 36. Since its inception in 1982,
the organization has funded innovative cancer research and
community outreach programs as well as diagnostic efforts. The
main goal of the organization remains to eradicate breast cancer
as a life-threatening illness.
- 30 -
News for
the week of
March 13
– March 18
