To provide Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) employees with crucial preventive care, the Methodist Mobile 3D Mammography coach recently visited Blue Cross Centre.
The coach travels to local companies, like BCBSNE, and underserved areas to provide convenient breast screenings to women, said Ashlee Murphy, Methodist Mobile 3D Mammography coordinator.
“The nice thing about the coach, as we notice, is when we go to corporations or other areas, people are more apt to get their mammogram,” Murphy said. “A lot of times women are busy; they can’t get off work for example, and they don’t take time for themselves. So, if we come to them, it only takes about 10 minutes to have their mammogram.”
Murphy said the screening process on the coach is the same as a patient would undergo in a doctor’s office. Gown warmers and privacy help keep women comfortable during the exam.
BCBSNE is one of many stops the coach has made in the community.
“We are going out between four and five times a week,” Murphy said.
Women should get their first mammogram by age 40, according to the American Cancer Society, and the mobile coach helps them stay on track.
“On the coach, we get women that are in their 50s and 60s, and it’s their first mammogram, or it’s been multiple years since their last mammogram,” Murphy said. “When you make it more accessible, women are more likely to have their yearly mammogram.”
Murphy and her team are passionate about cancer prevention and early detection. The coach is one of many tools Methodist uses to help women receive timely and consistent mammograms.
The care that the coach provides is invaluable to BCBSNE employees.
“We are incredibly proud to be able to partner with an organization like Methodist,” said Caroline Kahnk, wellness coordinator at BCBSNE. “They make getting crucial care like mammograms easier for our employees so they can stay healthy and keep doing their best work.”
The mobile coach was shut down for about three months due to the pandemic, but it’s now back to serving local women.
Learn more about the Methodist mobile mammography coach here.
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