ATLANTA — A new CDC study released Tuesday highlights the challenges of access to healthcare, specifically the barriers many women face when it comes to regular mammogram screenings.
Here in Atlanta, Grady Health System is working to improve that access via its new mobile mammogram bus.
"Some [women] keep up, but there are a lot who haven't had their mammogram done in years, especially since COVID," Stephanie Wilkes, Manager of Mobile Screening Services for Grady Health Systems, shared. "Then there are some who should have been having [mammograms] for years and have never had one, so this is a first for a lot of patients."
LINK | Schedule Your Mammogram
Wilkes shared that more than 1,200 screenings have been completed in the community since the bus rolled out in October. The convenience factor has not only drawn in new patients but also encouraged more women to keep their appointments.
"They usually have to go down to Grady, big Grady as they like to call it. So this saves them a lot of time," Wilkes said. "It's a lot closer, more accessible."
Breast cancer causes more than 40,000 deaths in women each year in the United States, according to a new CDC study. While the number of deaths due to breast cancer has decreased overall, there are disparities.
According to the study, Black women, women who lack insurance coverage and those who are low-income are more likely to die from breast cancer. However, mammogram screenings are critical, with research showing that they reduce deaths by 22%.
LINK | Schedule Your Mammogram
The mobile mammogram bus marks another step in Grady's efforts to address ongoing inequities.
"We're really focused on the zip codes that have the lowest life expectancy," Dr. Kelley Carroll, Chief of Ambulatory Medicine for Grady Health System, said. We know in the Atlanta region there is definitely a disparity between north and south, and a lot of it is that zip codes in the southern areas have high mortality rates in different diseases and a lower overall life expectancy."
Providers hope to improve access in targeted communities' zip codes, including 30310, 30311, 30314, 30318 and 30058.
"It's saving lives on wheels," Carroll said.