Congressionally Directed Spending for Construction Projects - Address Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. H80CS00696¬18¬00 1205 F Avenue Douglas, AZ 85607-1920 Project Director Name Emily Harris, MPH Contact Phone Numbers Voice: 520-432-3309 x 5270 Fax: 520-364-4261 Email Address eharris@cchci.org Website Address cchci.org Requested Funding Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending: Facilities and/or Equipment Projects – $983,265 The Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending: Facilities and/or Equipment Projects grant will be used to purchase a mobile mammography clinic to serve the residents of Cochise County, Arizona. Cochise County is designated as a health professional shortage area (HPSA) for medical, mental health, and dental services; is a medically underserved area (MUA); and Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (Chiricahua) is the only federally qualified health center (FQHC) in the county. Forty-five percent of the population identifies as a racial or ethnic minority and 16.6% live below the federal poverty threshold. Mammograms are a safe and effective way to detect breast cancer at an early stage when it is easier to treat. Women should begin screening mammograms by the age of 50 and many experts recommend as early as age 40 or 45. The following rates are based on Medicare claim data for women between the ages of 65 to 74 years of age in the last year and thus exclude a significant portion of the population who should be getting mammograms and does not account for women who only need a mammogram every 2 years. Nonetheless, the data demonstrate that not enough women are getting mammograms and mammography screening is not equitably distributed. In Cochise County only 36% of women received a screening mammogram with a breakdown as follows: 41% Asian women, 40% Black women, 37% white women, and 29% of Hispanic, Native American, and Alaskan Native women. Chiricahua patients had slightly better screening rates compared to the general population: of the 3,421 women between the ages of 51 and 73 years, 1,747 or 51% were screened. In Cochise County, mammography facilities are in four locations: Bisbee, Benson, Douglas, and Sierra Vista. This is notable because some rural patients would travel more than an hour each way to get a mammogram. The mobile mammography clinic will overcome barriers related to both transportation and lack of insurance.
