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Komen Complete Care Project
The Komen Complete Care Project at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Provides Comprehensive Services for Underserved Women
Since 2004, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has received annual grant funding from The Houston Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to provide comprehensive breast health services to underserved and uninsured women in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty and Montgomery counties.
Last year, UTMB received $687,686 in funding for its Komen Complete Care Project. Those funds provided:
- 1,146 screening mammograms
- 892 breast diagnostic procedures
- 7 full cancer treatment programs
- 352 navigation services for patients with breast abnormalities
- 92 navigation services to women diagnosed with breast cancer
- 843 instances of breast health education for patients at well-woman exams
“The UTMB Komen Complete Care Project is unique in that it helps us bridge the gap in services that currently exists in our community, particularly for uninsured women aged 40-49 years,” says Deana Gehring, grant coordinator for UTMB’s breast and cervical cancer programs.
Numerous institutions and local organizations offer free or reduced-cost screening mammograms for women, but few are able to offer a complete continuum of care from screening through full treatment. UTMB is able to do this because of the funding it receives from Komen Houston, says Gehring.
From left to right: Dr. Tricia Elliott (UTMB-Family Medicine department), Church volunteer Phyllis Marcel, Mammography technician Denise Shaw, Transportation technician Jose Martinez, Mammography technician Madeline Goldenschue, Dr. Angelica Robinson (UTMB- Radiology department)
Each year, Komen Houston awards local grants to organizations to provide a comprehensive range of breast health services, from screening and treatment to support services for medically underserved and uninsured women and men. Funding through this program has seen amazing growth in the last 20 years, expanding from $43,000 and only a few organizations in 1992 to over $3.27 million and 22 organizations in 2011.
“Not only are we able to screen uninsured women through Komen dollars, but we are able to provide education, diagnostic follow-up, cancer treatment and patient navigation,” says Gehring. “Our program — which includes a personalized patient navigation team — enables uninsured women to move smoothly through the diagnostic and possibly treatment process without an interruption in services,” says Gehring.
UTMB’s patient navigation model proactively guides women through the bureaucracy of the health care system — addressing financial, logistical, and socio-cultural barriers as they arise. Navigators assist the breast patient in the coordination of all diagnostic follow-up care. If a cancer diagnosis is made, the navigators assist the patient in gathering and submitting the documents necessary for enrollment into Medicaid for breast and cervical cancer. The navigators support the patient through each step of the cancer treatment process — from the initial surgical consult until the end of the treatment regimen.
Komen-funded UTMB patients receive screening mammograms at Regional Maternal Child Health clinics on the UTMB mobile van. UTMB Komen case manager Lizzie Hernandez tracks all the patients and their reports. If the reports are abnormal, then UTMB Komen breast navigators work with the clinic to get the patient to Galveston for scheduled diagnostic procedures. UTMB’s Sheryl Hall and Cris Gonzales perform this navigation function. If a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, then Hernandez or UTMB’s breast and cervical treatment coordinator Mary Jane Strauch meet with the patient and assist her through the treatment process. Gehring works to ensure this process runs smoothly and with great care for every patient.
“This job is so fulfilling,” says Gehring. “Each day when I drive home, I know that I have possibly helped save someone’s life.”
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