John’s Island Community Service league awarded Treasure Coast Community Health (TCCH) a $35,000 grant for their Women’s Preventative Health Service Program.

The TCCH Women’s Preventative Health Service Program pays for pap smears, mammogram, diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsy and additional testing and services if needed for qualifying Indian River County patients. Currently, no other health care organization in Indian River County is providing funding for early detection, screening, treatment, and care for underinsured and uninsured patients.

A cancer diagnosis, especially a breast or cervical cancer diagnosis, can strike fear in any woman. Behind heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in women in the US. TCCH recognizes the risks associated with non-compliance and realizes that a woman, in most cases, will defer her own health care in order to provide for her children. Deferring care could simply mean not having the money for an annual well-woman exam, pap screen, a baseline mammogram, or follow-up after an exam. It is for this reason that TCCH created its own Women’s Preventative Health Services program.

The TCCH Healthcare Home model requires providers ask patients, even if not seen for a well-women exam, the date of their last mammogram and pap smear. Women, whose routine preventive care is not up to date due to financial concerns, are referred to a Health Navigator. Program activities start with determining a woman’s eligibility to receive program services. If eligible, patients are educated and counseled on the importance of and receive a screening appointment. If necessary, further diagnostic testing is provided until a diagnosis can be determined.

Approximately 300 women can receive this potential live-saving service through the TCCH Women’s Preventative Health Services Program. A full breast diagnosis can cost up to $2,000 and available resources ultimately drive program capacity; therefore, TCCH carries a wait list of names while securing funding.