Susan G. Komen West Michigan grant dollars will fund essential breast cancer services for early detection and treatment. Determined to save lives and end breast cancer forever, Susan G. Komen West Michigan has awarded six grants totaling more than $235, 000 to local organizations that are providing breast cancer services/programs to uninsured and underserved populations in West Michigan.
“To meet needs we have discovered right here in our community, this year’s grant slate specifically addresses underserved and uninsured men and women,” said Jennifer Jurgens, executive director, Susan G. Komen West Michigan. “These grant dollars focus on gaps in services and opportunities to receive the mammograms needed for early detection and treatment.”
Susan G. Komen West Michigan mobilizes and educates thousands of community members while raising funds to support community-based breast cancer programs. The following six grant recipients will receive funding over a twelve-month period for programs specific to early detection and treatment.
Catherine’s Health Care Center will increase the number of low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women who receive appropriate breast health education, screening, and navigation services in Grand Rapids.
Hackley Community Center will offer education, breast screening, and diagnostic services to low-income women in Muskegon County.
Muskegon Family Care will provide breast screening services and education to ensure that minority and underserved women in Muskegon over the age of forty know about the importance of breast cancer screening and have access to mammograms and treatment options.
Mercy Health and Saint Mary’s Health Care will provide breast health education, no-cost clinical breast exam, breast imaging, and biopsy (if medically needed), and high-risk assessment for uninsured women in Newaygo, Montcalm, and Kent counties.
Spectrum Health Cancer Genetics will provide individualized no-cost breast cancer risk assessments and, if indicated, genetic testing to individuals who are uninsured or underinsured to reduce overall risk of breast cancer and increase the chance of identifying any cancer at the earliest, most treatable stage.
Spectrum Health Betty Ford Breast Care Services will increase access to breast care services in Montcalm, Newaygo, Ottawa, and Muskegon counties by providing education, navigation, and diagnostic services for women who are uninsured or underinsured, specifically targeting African-American, Hispanic, and rural women.
“The funding Komen West Michigan provides to local community organizations is vital,” says Teresa Jones, project director for Hackley Community Center. “Komen funding allows us to provide no-cost services and education for women in need of quality breast health care right here in West Michigan. Partnering with Komen, we can make a difference in our community and work together to end breast cancer forever.” For more information on the specific grants awarded, click here.
In order to ensure that funding addresses specific unmet breast cancer needs in the West Michigan community, Susan G. Komen West Michigan works with local health care professionals and community leaders to conduct a comprehensive community needs assessment. This community profile, a standard practice of all Komen Affiliates, is then used to establish a local grant application and review process consistent with the organization’s standards and mission.
For information on the specific grants awarded, visit www.komenwestmichigan.org/grants.
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