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July 23, 2013Terrebonne General Medical Center has welcomed a brand new member to its family.
And it’s not a boy or a girl. It’s an Early Bird II.
“We’ve waited a long time for this new baby,” said Phyllis Peoples, president and CEO of TGMC as she opened the ribbon cutting ceremony for the hospital’s new state-of-the-art mobile medical clinic at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at TGMC. “We are very proud today.”
The new mobile clinic brings the hospital’s number of transportable medical offices to two. Early Bird II gives doctors three exam rooms to perform free screenings for breast, prostate, skin, oral and colorectal cancers for the uninsured and underinsured.
The unit further expands southeast Louisiana residents’ access to cancer screenings, aiding in early detection and better outcomes. According to TGMC, death rates from cancer are higher than average in many parishes because of late stage diagnosis. The clinic will travel the area and be open for screenings at convenient times, including evenings and weekends, and locations.
“The new Early Bird Mobile Medical Clinic gives us the opportunity to provide additional, potentially lifesaving, cancer screenings to even more residents of our Tri-parish community,” Peoples said. “Wellness and prevention are at the core of TGMC’s vision, and by offering access to cancer education and prevention services, we hope to increase the number of early-detected cancers and improve survival outcomes regionally.
“In the two years the cancer center has been open, we have exceeded our expectations. If we prevent cancer in any way, we have met our commitment.”
Several staff members including Johnnay Benjamin, director of early detection and education at Mary Bird Perkins, were on board the unit conducting tours and distributing early detection literature.
“The mobile unit will be able to reach people by heading out into neighborhoods where people may be home bound and unable to make it all the way to town to a doctor’s office,” Benjamin said. “By offering screenings for breast, prostate, skin, oral and colorectal cancers, maybe we can get husbands and wives in here at the same time. The ladies can come in for breast cancer screenings and husbands can come in for prostate screenings.”
While on the roads of the area, the unit will be staffed by a community outreach coordinator, an early detection specialist, a nurse navigator and physicians. The hospital hopes to screen at least 35 people at each stop. The next screening will be Aug. 2 at Walgreen’s on North Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux. Prostate screenings will be from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., and skin screenings will be from 12:30-3:30 p.m.
Appointments are not required. Other upcoming screenings can be viewed at www.marybird.org/tgmc/calendar-of-events.
“Fighting cancer starts with prevention and early detection – detecting cancer early can make all the difference,” said Renea Duffin, vice president, cancer support and outreach at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “Offering more free screenings to at-risk populations is a critical part of our mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer.”
The hospital’s latest mobile unit was funded by a $2 million grant from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
The grant included $750,000 for the purchase and $1.25 million to operate the unit for five years in designated parishes.
Funds for the grant were received from a Fund for the Future of the Gulf, a flexible fund set up after the BP oil spill and backed by BP.
“Two years ago, we were able to provide access to prevention and detection services by going out into communities,” Todd Stevens, president and CEO of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “We were able to reach people who did not have access due to work hours, and Early Bird II will help make it a reality.
“BP offered to assist in the purchase of the unit and will pay the cost of operating it, paying for a driver and fuel, for the first five years. Fifty-two thousand people have already been screened (by the hospital and its partners), and we hope to make it 100,000 in the next few years.”
“We have great news – cancer is becoming a less scary word,” said radiation oncologist Dr. Jeffery Long. “We are blessed with a compassionate and dedicated staff. If caught early enough, cancer is almost 100 percent curable. The unit will absolutely save lives.”
