Diamond Credit Union Commits Leadership Gift in Support
West Reading, PA., – Reading Hospital Foundation announced that it has launched a new fundraising initiative. The Foundation’s goal is to raise $2 million by October 2021 to purchase a mobile mammography unit to help provide routine screenings for women who might not otherwise have access to this life-saving service. In support of this initiative Diamond Credit Union has committed a Leadership Gift donation to help secure the unit.
The new Mobile Mammography vehicle will allow Reading Hospital to bring the screening to the patient, removing transportation barriers. Outfitted with the latest technology, including 3D tomosynthesis, the Mobile Mammography Coach uses a digital mammography screening tool that improves the accuracy of imaging (reducing unneeded follow-up visits) and enables caregivers to detect more invasive cancers. The Mobile Mammography Coach will have the capacity to perform 20 mammograms per day in the community, reaching approximately 4,000 women a year.
“Diamond Credit Union’s mission is a commitment to support the needs of the communities we serve where our members live,” said John Faust President and CEO at Diamond Credit Union. “We hope our donation inspires others to help in any way they can so that, together, we can provide life-saving access to care.”
In 2019, findings from Reading Hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment identified “access to care” as a barrier for those in medically underserved communities. This means many women from those communities do not have adequate access to mammogram screenings, making the mortality rate among women in those communities disproportionally high.
“Donations in support of the mobile Mammography unit will help provide access to potentially life-saving screenings to our friends, family, and neighbors,” said Katherine Thornton, President, Reading Hospital Foundation. “Every dollar raised for this initiative will help us purchase the Mobile Mammography Coach with a full suite of detection/imaging equipment, help fund communications to make women aware of this important service, and underwrite the cost of screening for the uninsured/underinsured women in our community. The generous donation from our partners at Diamond Credit Union will help ensure everyone in our community has access to routine mammogram screenings.”
“Regularly scheduled mammograms are an important part of a woman’s healthcare routine,” said Erik Rupard, MD, Chief, Section of Hematology Oncology at McGlinn Cancer Institute at Reading Hospital. “We know that for many women accessing services can be a hurdle. Having the support of the Reading Hospital Foundation and Diamond Credit Union to provide a mobile mammography unit to reach our patients in their communities will help meet the needs of thousands of women.”
Did you know?
- Breast Cancer affects nearly 1 in 8 women in the United States. In Pennsylvania, 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- Approximately 85 percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for women in Pennsylvania.
- According to estimates, in 2020 more than 12,000 women in Pennsylvania will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
- In Berks County, 70.5 percent of women ages 50-74 had a mammogram in the past two years. This is below the rate for all women in Pennsylvania (75.6 percent) and the US (77 percent).
- In the first year, the goal for the Mobile Mammography Coach is to be scheduled 200 days in the community with 20 mammograms per day reaching approximately 4,000 women.
Women who choose mobile mammography can expect the same exceptional patient care as they would at one of Tower Health’s mammography imaging locations. Scheduling, testing, follow-up, and referrals will be a seamless experience.
