UC Health’s Mobile Mammography Unit will return to Hillsboro twice more in 2020, UC Health Mobile Mammography Program Manager Morgan Miller told The Times-Gazette.
The unit will be located at 108 Trimble Place on Tuesday, July 14 from 8-11 a.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 13 from 1-3 p.m.
The mammograms are typically covered 100 percent by insurance, and the program offers funding for those who aren’t currently uninsured, which also covers 100 percent of the cost. Though the standard age to start getting an annual mammogram is 40, UC Health will see people as young as 35, Miller said in a previous interview.
Patients do not have to live in Hillsboro to schedule an appointment.
“Even if someone has a relative who doesn’t live in Hillsboro — bring your mother, bring your sister, bring your cousin, bring a buddy, anyone who you know hasn’t had their mammogram because we want to save their lives,” Miller said previously. “Even though it’s posted for the city of Hillsboro, it’s for anyone who could benefit from getting a mammogram.”
Those who are insured must bring their insurance information and IDs to their appointment.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, UC Health is taking precautions to minimize potential spread. When women arrive on the mobile unit they can expect the following:
· Increased time between appointments to minimize contact with others.
· Temperature checks and a COVID-19 screening questionnaire.
· Detailed cleaning of the rooms between each patient.
· Filling out of paperwork in the dressing room to minimize contact at registration.
The Mobile Mammography unit first came to Hillsboro last September, when it served 13 women, which meant that all available appointments were filled. Of those 13 women, three were uninsured but received UC Health funding, which covered the full price of their mammograms. The day after the event, four women called UC Health to sign-up for the next Mobile Mammography event in Hillsboro, but at that time there wasn’t another event.
“We were like, ‘Oh shoot, we’re not there again.’ We didn’t expect the response to be this much,” Miller said following the first event. “That’s what prompted us to schedule the additional date.”
Miller told The Times-Gazette that Hillsboro’s response to UC Health’s first Mobile Mammography event in the city was the first time she’s seen a community react so enthusiastically.
“This does not happen very often,” Miller said. “I’ve had it happen before, but I’ve never had it happen in a community comparable to Hillsboro. It’s something you see more when we do huge companies. You don’t see as much overflow when you do a community site.”
Miller said she was excited that all the appointments for the unit’s first visit to Hillsboro were filled and that people continued to reach out after the event. After the success of the first visit, Miller scheduled a second, but when all the appointments for the second event filled as well, Miller decided to schedule a mammography event in Hillsboro every quarter.
“If we go somewhere at least two times, and it fills both times, we start to think, ‘OK, this isn’t a normal one-time, two-time mammography visit. The second date is more than just an overflow day. There’s a lot of people here we don’t want to miss,’” Miller said after all the appointments for the second event filled a month in advance. “That’s when we start scheduling quarterly or monthly visits. I didn’t want Hillsboro to lose its momentum. I didn’t want to schedule events monthly and have them not fill. I want women to have a mammogram in every season. It’s a flexibility to be able to have their mammograms around the same time, but close to home.”
Miller said she and her team were excited to be able to offer the program in the community.
“When we have that community support, it makes a huge difference. I want the community to know how grateful we are that they participated and showed up the way they did,” Miller said previously. “There’s a health gap in Hillsboro. There’s not a lot of hospitals and facilities in the area. If they need it, we’ll be there.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment with UC Health’s Mobile Mammography unit for July 14 or Oct. 13, call 513-584-7465.
Reach McKenzie Caldwell at 937-402-2570.
