Sens. Tina Tartaglione, Jim Dillon and Art Haywood were at Fox Chase Cancer Center last week to present a $1.1 million grant to Temple Health to fund mobile health services.
Accepting the check was Mike Young, president and CEO of Temple Health System.
The money will go to:
• Begin the Turn Mobile Suboxone Unit – Suboxone prescriptions – $250,000
• Begin the Turn Mobile Suboxone Unit – Trauma-informed counseling – $100,000
• Fox Chase Cancer Center Mobile Screening Van – Mammography and preventative care – $250,000
• Healthy Together Mobile Unit of the Temple Center for Population Health – Community engagement, screenings, vaccination and education – $250,000
• Miriam Medical/Zion Baptist Church/Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine Collaborative Mobile Clinic – COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccination and chronic disease monitoring – $250,000
Dillon said mobile units are “lifesavers” that lower healthcare costs and lead to better outcomes. He added that the work done at Fox Chase makes it easy for him to advocate for money for the center.
Haywood said administering the COVID vaccine to people in the community was a success, adding that mobile, community-based medical care is essential.
“Early screenings save lives,” he said.
Dr. Amy Goldberg, dean at the Katz School of Medicine, said mobile units can screen for diabetes and hypertension and help those with cancer and mental illness.
Goldberg recalled a time when doctors would make house calls.
“These mobile units capture that same spirit,” she said.
Dr. Robert Uzzo, president and CEO of Fox Chase, said FCCC’s mission is to discover and deliver, adding that mobile units lead to early detection of cancer and other conditions.
Uzzo said five-year cancer survival rates are on the rise and pointed to American Cancer Society statistics showing cancer deaths have dropped 33 percent since 1991, saving 3.8 million lives.
“That’s the kind of thing early detection does,” he said. ••
