Early detection of breast cancer saves lives!

MAMMOGRAMS!!

EVERY WOMAN OVER AGE 40

NEEDS A MAMMOGRAM....

EVERY YEAR!

Mammograms are available in your neighborhood with the Nevada Health Centers Mammovan!

Please Call Toll Free

(877) 581-6266

For Information And Appointments

Overview:
Nevada Health Centers, Inc. (NVHC) was founded in 1977 as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and currently has 21 medical and dental centers throughout Nevada.

NVHC operates the Nevada Health Centers Mammovan. The Mammovan is a mobile mammography van that travels to underserved areas of our state to provide mammograms to geographically isolated and/or uninsured women who probably would not seek out mammography services on their own. On occasion, the Mammovan travels with a Physician Assistant who provides clinical breast exams, pelvic exams and pap smears. The Mammovan, which began operating in 2000, was made possible through a grant secured by Senator (then Congressman) John Ensign.  The First Lady of Nevada, Dema Guinn is a spokeswoman for our project and from time to time travels with the Mammovan to encourage women in the neighborhoods we visit to get their mammograms.

Target Population— Not having insurance is a barrier for many women to get a mammogram but it is clear it is not the only barrier.  Our community out-reach efforts help break down some of the barriers that have more to do with lack of education, cultural belief systems and language difficulties than cost. Four employees who work with the Mammovan program speak fluent Spanish. Our health education efforts extend to agencies that help support the Mammovan by encouraging their clientele to make appointments for our services and by providing the Mammovan with a place to park.  These agencies include but are not limited to Family Resource Centers, Hispanic Services, State and County Health Departments, Tribal Health Centers, Corporations, Senior Centers, Churches, and Community Centers.  The advantage of the Mammovan is we can go to where the women are.  We try to do most of our advertising in the neighborhoods where we will be providing services and take a sister-to-sister approach in encouraging women to make appointments for their mammograms, breast exams and Pap smears.

Services Provided— The Mammovan provides screening and diagnostic mammograms. On occasion, clinical breast exams, pelvic exams and pap smears are also provided.

Staffing— The Mammovan Project employs a Mammography Technologist, Physician Assistant, Medical Assistant, Receptionist, Scheduler, Community Outreach Coordinator, two Community Outreach Workers, a Driver and an Operations Manager.  Our entire team is passionate about women’s health care and we are proud of the fact that the Mammovan is the only place in Nevada where women can go to receive all their women’s health screening services in one visit.  Our lead radiology group is West Valley Imaging.  Every patient who has a mammogram is informed of her results and tracked until breast cancer can be ruled out or diagnosed.  Our Physician Assistant ensures that women who need follow-up services such as ultrasound, magnification views and/or biopsies receive them.

Federal Designation— Serves HPSA areas.

Special Populations/Health Issues:
In keeping with the mission of NVHC, the Mammovan seeks to serve the underserved population, targeting women age 40 and over.  The Mammovan also provides services for women under 40, who are physician referred or who present with a problem.  Our intention is similar to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (who is one of our supporters) “to capture and increase the number of asymptomatic individuals undergoing screening mammography for the early detection of breast cancer.”  

Patient Profile for 2004 – Ethnic Groups served (top 3): Caucasian (45%), Hispanic (31%), African American (5%).

Funders: