Crouse Hospital to use Komen grant for breast-health services awareness

SYRACUSE — The Central New York chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has awarded Crouse Hospital a grant of $48,000, which it’ll use to raise awareness about its breast-health services.

The hospital will use the Komen grant to make “underserved” women aware of Crouse’s free screenings and other breast-health services through three areas of focus, the hospital said in a news release.

They include targeted outreach projects to specific minority groups in the Syracuse area, including refugee populations and chemically dependent populations, Crouse said.

In addition, the hospital wants to establish connections with OB-GYN physicians and practitioners who have patients under the age of 40 with a family history of breast cancer or abnormal results from exams.

Crouse Hospital also plans outreach and educational programs aimed at supporting those who do not have health insurance.

Crouse says it will also use the funding to provide mammograms and other tests for women who otherwise could not receive them because they carry insufficient insurance or do not qualify for Onondaga County’s cancer-services program.

“Crouse is dedicated to providing the best possible screening and treatment services to all women,” Dr. Stephen Montgomery, medical director of the Crouse Breast Health Center, said in the news release. “Unfortunately, a lack of education about the services we provide or a lack of access to healthcare prevents many women from getting an annual mammogram, even though it can save lives.”

The Komen organization dates back to 1982 when Nancy Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do “everything in her power” to end breast cancer forever. The organization, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, sprung from that promise.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com