Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital is able to provide the Mobile Mammography Program through assistance from the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation and a grant from the Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. A generous donation from the customers and employees of Safeway to the Denver Komen Affiliate helps make the program possible.
In February 2004, the Community Needs Task Force of the Denver Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® initiated an assessment of the breast health needs of the Affiliate's service area. The objective of this effort was to identify gaps in education/awareness, screening, treatment and other services related to breast cancer in order to ensure that the activities of the organization were focused on needs.
Based on the outcome of the needs assessment, the leaders for the Denver Affiliate of the Susan G Komen for the Cure® asked Carl Unrein, president and CEO of the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation if Saint Joseph Hospital would purchase and operate a mobile mammography unit to meet the needs of the community for screening mammographies.
After an extensive literature and program search, it was concluded that SJH could not operate the vehicle without substantial community financial support.
Komen and the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation proposed a three way partnership with Saint Joseph Hospital to initially fund the acquisition of the mobile mammography unit and the first three years of operating costs, which were projected to be a significant deficit.
Approvals were required by Komen national to make a grant outside of their normal process, along with approvals from the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation Board of Directors and the leadership of Saint Joseph Hospital.
Saint Joseph Hospital holds title to the vehicle and is responsible for the promotion, scheduling, operation, and maintain the mobile van. Operations commenced in the fall of 2005.
Funding from the community has been significant in the operations of the mobile mammography unit. Komen and the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation have and continue to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the unit. U.S. Senator Ken Salazar supported the operation of the unit for one year through a grant in 2008 from the Centers for Disease Control to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation. The last three years, Safeway Foundation has been a significant supporter. Safeway's donation enabled a conversion from analog to digital technology in 2009. The unit is the only mobile mammography in the state of Colorado with digital capabilities.
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