Waukesha, Wis. – The ProHealth Care Foundation has received $64,814 from Susan G. Komen Wisconsin to provide breast health education and outreach to people in Waukesha County who are uninsured or underinsured.
The foundation has received a total of $527,528 from Komen since 2010 for the services, which are provided by ProHealth Care’s Hispanic Health Resource Center.
Through the program, a ProHealth Care nurse and bilingual health promoters work together to provide comprehensive, culturally awareeducation about breast health, facilitate access to mammograms, and provide case management services for those who need medical care.
“The Komen grant allows us to help men and women overcome financial, transportation, language and other barriers so that they canaccess the services they need,” said Joan Ullrich, ProHealth’smanager of case management and senior services.
The grant is expected to provide education and screenings for 585people and follow-up services for 275 people who may need care as a result of mammogram results, Ullrich said.
In order to better integrate services for people who are uninsured and underinsured, ProHealth Care is a health care provider for the Wisconsin Well Woman Program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The program provides preventive health screenings, including mammograms, to eligible women ages 45 to 64.
Crystal Cepican, RN, serves as the project director for the Komen grant and the regional coordinator for the Wisconsin Well WomanProgram. The ProHealth Hispanic Health Resource Center is located at 210 NW Barstow St., Waukesha.
According to data for Waukesha County from the 2015 Susan G. Komen Community Report for Southeast Wisconsin:
• The county’s breast cancer incidence rate is 13.5 percent higher than the national rate.
• An average of 333 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed inwomen each year.
• Breast cancer causes an average of 56 deaths each year.
