Increasing Breast Cancer Screening and reducing barriers through Caring Connections at the Bangor Region YMCA

Through this project, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center will strengthen internal practices and coordination between seven primary care offices and Northern Light Imaging to decrease no-show rates and increase breast cancer screening rates among their target population in the Bangor region.

This will be accomplished with a pilot project in a chosen clinic in year one that would then be replicated in all EMMC primary care practices over two years. A Cancer Screening & Barrier Reduction Committee made up of EMMC primary care and breast imaging providers and Bangor Region YMCA staff will isolate specific workflow and process improvement measures and foster innovations that will increase internal collaboration to improve patient compliance and increase screening rates through the identification and removal of internal and external barriers.