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Mammography Program

The Health Care Center for the Homeless (HCCH) provides free screening mammograms for our female patients who are over the age of forty and have faced barriers to receiving this service. As the occurrence of breast cancer increases with age, early detection is crucial. The Femmes de Coeur Mammography Program for the Health Care Center for the Homeless was founded in 2006 to help address this issue for the female patients at our Health Center. It began as a partnership with the Femmes de Coeur, a local women’s philanthropic group who continues to provide their support to this day through our Heart to Heart Gala partnership. As of January of 2013, over 1400 free mammograms have been provided through this program. When a patient is initially seen by a provider at the Orange Blossom Family Health Center, they are assessed for multiple needs that we can address. A female patient is “prescribed” a mammogram if she is over the age of forty; has never received a screening mammogram; has a familial history of breast cancer; or has had multiple biopsies. In some cases, a woman under the age of forty may be referred to the screening program if her provider feels she is at a higher risk. Women receiving care through this particular program have no insurance coverage of any kind, which would open other avenues of service for them. Mammograms are provided on-site by a mobile unit that comes to the Health Center on a monthly basis. Currently, 30 women receive this service each month, but the demand is high and the program is consistently booked many months in advance. Each screening mammogram costs HCCH $125, but are provided completely free of charge for our female patients. The services provided through this program are funded entirely though private support including local foundations, corporations, churches, health care providers, and private individuals. All other services leading up to the screening are provided as part of primary medical care, so all funding for this program goes only to provide the actual screening. HCCH was very fortunate to receive grant funding from the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in April of 2011. This funding allowed us to increase services from 60 mammograms per quarter to our current level of 30 each month. If you would like to help support the Femmes de Coeur Mammography Program for the Health Care Center for the Homeless, you can make a donation by clicking on the "Donate" button above. Select "Mammography Program" in the Program Designation drop-down menu. If you would prefer to make a gift by check, please mail your check to the Health Care Center for the Homeless and notate mammography program in the memo section.