Back on the Road Saving Lives - Bassett's Mobile Medical Coach Making Rounds

Cooperstown, N.Y. After more than a year hiatus, Bassett Healthcare Network's mobile mammography and cancer screening program is back on the road. Bassett invested in a newer generation RV-type medical coach equipped with high-tech diagnostic technology; the coach, manufactured by Medical Coaches, Inc., in Oneonta, is traveling throughout the network's eight-county service region and adjacent counties to bring breast and cervical cancer screening services to convenient locations for the population Bassett serves. Early diagnosis of cancer means greater chance of survival.

Valerie Maddalone, the family nurse practitioner who provides clinical services on the medical coach, notes, "To significantly improve outcomes for cancer patients in the region, the entire continuum of cancer care must include prevention and early detection interventions. This is the reason Bassett Healthcare Network developed this cancer screening outreach program, centered around a mobile medical coach so we could expand access to cancer screening and cancer prevention education, thereby improving access to early detection and treatment and hopefully helping reduce cancer deaths."

The coach contains full-field digital mammography equipment. In addition, the coach's self-contained technology and exam room enables staff to perform additional types of cancer screenings, including cervical cancer screenings, Pap tests, and colorectal cancer screenings, as well as provide educational materials to patients. No one is turned away because of their inability to pay.

Since 2008, the Bassett Cancer Institute has helped thousands of individuals receive preventive screenings through the mobile medical coach program.

11,044 mammograms completed; of those, 1,864 were uninsured/underinsured women
803 women were referred for follow-up care
35 women received a breast cancer diagnosis and recommendation for treatment
1,503 women received Pap/pelvic exams; 107 were referred for additional care
10 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and referred for treatment
692 colorectal screening kits were provided to men and women (two years of data), and out of those, 77 individuals were referred for follow-up care.
Christine Conkling, manager of community outreach, explains, "Our medical coach travels to Bassett's regional primary care centers and other locations throughout the year to provide convenient mammography services. We also work with the New York State Cancer Services Program to provide breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening services to the under and uninsured population at various special events each year. We want to prevent, as much as possible, the emotional and physical toll a cancer diagnosis can take on patients and their families. Toward that end, the medical coach is a valuable tool in our fight against this disease."

For more information or to inquire about scheduling the Bassett Cancer Institute's medical coach in your community, call 607-547-4830.

The mobile medical coach program was recognized in 2014 by the Healthcare Association of New York State with its Community Health Improvement Award, which honors outstanding initiatives that target specific community health issues, demonstrate leadership, collaborate among diverse groups and achieve quantifiable positive results.