Using health information technology for planning and policy development: The breast health resource mapping project

St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities (SLEHC) was organized as a public charity in 1997 and is now the largest faith-based charity devoted exclusively to health in the Houston, Texas area. The Charities has funded $66 million in 1,100 grants to nonprofit organizations in a 57-county area of Texas. The mission of SLEHC is to serve the underserved, and our values are purposefully aligned with those of public health. In 2005, SLEHC presented its concept of a free, interactive Internet-based breast health resource website to the first Annual Greater Houston Area Breast Health Summit. The Summit, co-sponsored by The Rose and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, brought together over 140 breast healthcare providers and community members for the purpose of planning and policy development to improve access to breast health care, particularly for uninsured clients. The summit attendees have since formed The Breast Health Collaborative of Texas. The group began The Breast Health Resource Mapping Project to provide a contiguous eight-county area with an internet-based website with interactive capability to locate and identify breast health resources. The website has the capacity to layer these resources over population and health data within a selected geographic area to allow health planners to identify and prioritize underserved areas where there is insufficient capacity and help to determine expansion potential. Development of this tool involved a participatory planning and assessment process and the creation of an Advocacy Committee to develop advocacy, funding, and policy initiatives. The collaborative plans to develop the tool statewide.