FMOL Health unveiled a mobile mammography unit designed to bring increased availability to women in rural parishes and underserved areas where the need is the greatest.
Wrapped in a custom FMOL Health wrap proclaiming to inspire health “one stop at a time,” the mobile mammography unit is launching its maiden voyage in the FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake service community, visiting at least 20 clinics on the road from Baton Rouge to the Northshore, including Baker, Central, Denham Springs, Plaquemine, Assumption, and Donaldsonville. In coming months, the mobile mammography unit will travel to FMOL Health markets in Acadiana and North Louisiana.
"Across FMOL Health, we're making significant investments in our facilities, technology and people, including Women’s and Child Health Services,” said E.J. Kuiper, president and CEO. “The launch of this mobile mammography unit reflects another important part of that strategy: ensuring care reaches beyond our walls and into the communities that need it most."
The mobile mammography unit equipped with Hologic 3D Mammography with 3D Digital Breast Tomosynthesis allows preventative screenings by an experienced mammography technologist in a private space. The unit will be stationed in the parking lots of centrally located primary care clinics, so that more women may receive compassionate care closer to their homes without comprising quality.
State-of-the-art 3-D technology provides more accurate testing than traditional 2-D mammograms and allows invasive breast cancers to be more easily detected. Using a curved compression surface that mirrors the shape of the breast, it also offers an improved patient experience.
Recent data from the United Health Foundation shows that nearly 80 percent of women in the state ages 40 to 74 received a mammography within the last two years, ranking Louisiana 10th among the United States, above the national average of 74.5%. Still, as breast cancer remains a leading cause of death in the state, increasing mammography screenings remains a public health priority.