The California-based cancer care center is launching two mobile health units this year to bring screening services and other resources to underserved communities.
One of the nation’s largest cancer care providers is launching a mobile health program to boost access to screening services for underserved populations.
City of Hope, based in California, is rolling out a fully staffed mobile health clinic to neighborhoods in Antelope Valley and greater Los Angeles, and plans to launch a second vehicle later this year. The two clinics will offer mammograms and screening capabilities for as many as 15 different types of cancer, as well as resources for further care coordination and treatment.
"Our comprehensive mobile cancer prevention and screening program is the next step in our mission to expand access to optimal cancer care, bringing our expertise outside the walls of our campus and into the communities we serve,” Harlan Levine, MD, president of health innovation and policy at City of Hope, said in a press release. “We know that identifying and addressing cancers early saves lives, and we want to do our part to ensure every person has access to these services and help create a healthier, more equitable future for all.”
[Also read: The Exec: Harlan Levine Sees Innovation as the Key to Equitable Cancer Care.]
City’s of Hope’s mobile health strategy is a growing trend in the US, as more and more healthcare organizations look to address healthcare access issues and bring more services to consumers in their homes, businesses, and communities. Mobile health programs can reach people who might not be able to or want to visit a doctor, and who might be ignoring or postponing a health issue that, left unchecked, could become serious, even fatal.
For Levine and his colleagues, that issue is cancer detection. According to the American Cancer Society, the U.S. will see more than 2 million new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths this year and 42% of those cases and 45% of tho0se deaths will involve risk factors that could have been prevented or contained through better detection.
The program is supported by a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant secured with the help of California Rep. Mike Garcia; it will be sustained, officials say, through charitable donations.
Eric Wicklund is the associate content manager and senior editor for Innovation at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
More than 2 million new cases of cancer will be diagnoses on the U.S. this year, and more than 40% of them could have been avoided or contained through early detection.
City of Hope is launching two mobile health units this year with technology and screening services to detect at least 15 different types of cancer.
The new program is part of a national trend of using mobile health programs to extend access to care to underserved communities, reaching people where they live, work, and shop.