Mobile Mammography Van is Getting Ready to Roll!
Our team was in Greenville for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Northern Light CA Dean's new main hospital building, the Buck Family Building. CA Dean Hospital was the second of two Northern Light "rural modernization" projects to be completed, following Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital which was completed in August of 2023.
Northern Light also unveiled their new mobile mammography van, which will be hitting the road in the coming weeks. The mobile unit was made possible thanks to $1M in federal funding secured by Senator Susan Collins.
The mobile unit includes a waiting/check in area, changing room, and a screening area with the mammography system, which is the same system used at other Northern Light Hospital locations.
In support of this effort, grant funding from MCF has established a women's health navigator role in Piscataquis County to contact women in need of screening, highlight the importance of mammograms, and coordinate with the mobile mammography team to schedule screenings. (GRANT: Piscataquis County mobile mammography project)
Piscataquis County lags behind the state average when it comes to breast cancer screening. According to the most recent data, only 66.7% of women over 40 years old in Piscataquis County have had a mammogram in the past two years.
Had a Mammogram in Past 2 Years, Female, Ages 40+
| County | % |
| Aroostook | 74.4 |
| Androscoggin | 72.5 |
| Franklin | 72.4 |
| Oxford | 71.2 |
| Cumberland | 70.2 |
| Kennebec | 70.2 |
| Washington | 70 |
| Knox | 69.9 |
| Somerset | 69.9 |
| Penobscot | 68 |
| Waldo | 67.7 |
| Sagadahoc | 67.2 |
| York | 67.1 |
| Lincoln | 66.7 |
| Piscataquis | 66.7 |
| Hancock | 66.1 |
This is largely in part due to transportation barriers that prevent many of Maine's residents from accessing the care they deserve. This mobile unit aims to bridge the gap, ensuring that more Mainers in rural communities have access to quality care close to home.
