UAMS MammoVan to Offer Mammograms in Lincoln County March 15
| LITTLE ROCK – The MammoVan, a mobile mammography unit operated by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), will be in Gould on March 15 to offer mammograms for area women.
The MammoVan will be at the IGA store on Highway 65 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. March 15. For information about the MammoVan’s schedule or to determine if you qualify for services, call (800) 259-8794.
The MammoVan regularly travels to 26 Arkansas counties that lack FDA-approved certified mammography facilities, providing digital screening mammograms and breast care education.
The three-room mobile unit is outfitted with the most advanced digital mammography equipment and is staffed by a certified mammography technologist and a technical assistant.
Patients will receive their test results within one to two weeks. Results also will be sent to each patient’s primary care physician. If the mammogram shows a potential abnormality, the patient will be referred for follow-up to the appropriate services.
The unit is handicapped accessible, with a wheelchair lift entering directly into the mammography suite. The mammography unit also is designed to accommodate women in a standing or seated position.
Funding for the MammoVan is provided by the Walmart Foundation, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Breast Cancer Relief Foundation of New Orleans, the Arkansas Cancer Coalition, the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Little Rock affiliate, the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Runway for a Cause, Big Red Tailgate, Win Rockefeller Jr., Dee Dee Ricks and Joan Bass. Collaborating partners are the Arkansas Department of Health, Community Health Centers of Arkansas and the UAMS Witness Project.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,820 Arkansas women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and 410 women died from the disease.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.