The WVU Cancer Institute is among six organizations to receive an inaugural Medline Breast Cancer Awareness grant, which is awarded to organizations to further the mission to eradicate breast cancer and provide counseling. The grant drives awareness around prevention and early detection by providing support to organizations that provide direct patient care.
“This grant will help Bonnie’s Bus further its mission to serve the women of the state through mammograms provided in a convenient and comfortable environment,” Jenny Ostien, director of mobile screening at the WVU Cancer Institute, said.
The organizations chosen to receive this grant represent the various types of communities Medline serves, from rural towns to big cities, and they work with diverse groups of patients in all stages – prevention, detection, and even grief counseling for families and loved ones.
The other recipients of the grants include Bright Pink in Chicago, Ill.; Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, Inc. in Fort Myers, Fla.; Leslie’s Week in Arnold, Md.; Metropolitan Breast Cancer Task Force in Chicago, Ill.; and Susan G. Komen New England in Newton, Mass. Each organization will use the funding to support and advance ongoing breast cancer awareness and prevention initiatives.
“This funding will allow us to help navigate eligible patients to the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program and provide patient navigation services for women who need follow-up care,” Ostien said. “These services ensure our patients are able to access the care they need close to home.”
Since 2009 Bonnie’s Bus has served women from all of West Virginia’s 55 counties, providing more than 17,900 mammograms and finding 80 cases of breast cancer. No West Virginia woman age 40 and older is ever turned away. Grant funds and donations are available to pay for women without insurance coverage.
Medline will work with the participating organizations to track the progress of the supported programs and measure the impact on the local communities.
Since 2005, Medline has been uniting healthcare professionals, breast cancer patients, and survivors. The company launched an awareness campaign in support of prevention and early detection and has donated more than $2 million to breast cancer charities nationwide.
The gift was made through the WVU Foundation, the non-profit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.