The Northside Hospital Cancer Institute has been named by Georgia CORE as a 2014 recipient of the Georgia Access to Care, Treatment and Services (ACTS) Grant. Northside was awarded approximately $50,000 to fund screening mammograms and other breast diagnostic procedures for women who cannot afford them. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements and reside in Hall, Dawson, Lumpkin, Pickens and other outlying counties. Services will be provided at select Northside Hospital imaging centers across North Atlanta, as well as through the hospital’s ScreenAtlanta mobile mammography van.
As a National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program, the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute offers a full spectrum of services for patients including research, education, genetic counseling, imaging, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, support, rehabilitation and more – covering every aspect of breast care.
The ACTS Grant is funded by Georgia’s breast cancer license tag program, in which each tag purchased or renewed from the Georgia Department of Revenue, $22 goes into the fund. Georgia CORE administers the grant on behalf of the Georgia State Office of Rural Health within the Department of Community Health. Over the past several years, cancer centers and nonprofit organizations throughout the state have applied for this funding to pay for screenings, education and treatment for Georgians without insurance that are also below the poverty level.
“As long as Georgia drivers buy the license tag, the fund will continue to grow,” said Georgia CORE vice president Angie Patterson. “With breast cancer being the second leading cause of cancer death among women in our state, we need more people to buy them so we can expand breast cancer treatments and early detection services to as many Georgians as possible.”