258546 Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

Debra DeWitt, MSN, FNP-BC , Department of Health and Wellness; Women's Health/Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Fulton County Health Services, Atlanta, GA
Background Information The Fulton County Department of Health Services works to ensure access to both high impact behavioral health and medical clinical services to promote the health of the county residents, and mitigate health disparities. During fiscal year 2009-2010, client's lack access to health care facilities, 31% of uninsured, underinsured, high risk women living in Fulton County did not receive mammography screenings and were placed on waiting lists for mammograms and other health care service. Methods One method Fulton County Women's Health Program used to eliminate barriers and promote healthy communities was to secure funding through a grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Atlanta Affiliate organization awarded April 1, 2011. These funds allowed 300 additional women to receive early mammography screenings and eliminated the client wait list. The funding also increased access to health care services within the Hispanic Communities. Clinical and behavior health referrals were offered to clients within their communities via the Women's Health Mobile Unit. Bilingual outreach workers were used to eliminate the language barrier. Results The outreach efforts of the program that enabled us to utilize new funds for additional screenings resulted in the delivery of more services in '10-'11 when compared to '09-10. The chart below demonstrates this increase in the number of women served after receiving funding from Susan G. Komen. Conclusion The additional funding received through Susan G. Komen for the Cure enabled the program to provide an increase in mammograms to uninsured, underinsured, high risk women in Fulton County.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
1.Identify resources to eliminate barriers and promote healthy communities 2.Formulate collaborations with agencies to provide early access to health care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified because I have conducted research in the area of breast and cervical cancer and this research has been supported by several state and federal grants. I currently serve as the Women's Health and Breast and Cervical Cancer Program Coordinator for the largest district in the state of Georgia, Fulton County District.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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