Here you can find useful information on the programs and services we offer.
Women’s Outreach Network, (WON), is a New York State licensed Diagnostic and Treatment Center under Article 28 of the New York State Health Regulations. WON is an ACR accredited mammography provider. All equipment is certified under the FDA’s Mammography Quality Assurance Program.
The Women’s Outreach Network, Inc., Mobile Mammography Program is a free service eligible to all women. All insurance plans are accepted and patients without insurance are welcome. Women that are 40 and older should have an annual clinical breast exam and mammogram. If you have not had a mammogram in the past year, you are welcome to contact us for an appointment or for information. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should consult with their doctor regarding at what age it would be appropriate to begin screening mammography.
WON provides approximately 6000 exams annually. The van is a mobile mammography office comprised of three rooms. The entrance opens into the reception room. Behind the reception room is a room where the patient receives the mammogram examination. In the back of the van is the clinical breast examination room. All patients will receive a mammogram, clinical breast exam and breast self-examination instruction. Films are interpreted by a board- certified radiologist. Reports are sent to the patient and her doctor in 10 business days. Patients with abnormal findings are contacted by WON navigators. These patients will be navigated to an appropriate medical provider. Uninsured patients will be followed-up with funding provided by the New York State Breast Health Partnerships, at a partner Hospital location at no charge to the patient.
Thanks to information campaigns, many women know that mammograms are the first line of defense against the devastating consequences of breast cancer. Yet, many women including new immigrants that either do not speak and understand English properly, African-American women, Latina women, and seniors, are uninsured, underinsured, or are fearful of hospitals and heath clinics because of past, negative experiences.
Over the years WON has done extensive outreach in each borough and Long Island. We have developed strong relationships with community leaders, organizations, clinics, places of worship, and community centers, that also serve the uninsured and under-served. Our community leaders are trusted in their neighborhoods to allow only credible and acceptable health care providers access to their people. It is often the out stretched hand of a trusted member of the community that encourages participation among the most difficult to reach women.
during the last 20 years WON has conducted hundreds of seminars at local organizations and educated not only the 145,000 women screened but any individual who stopped at the educational table placed in front of the mammography unit. We estimate that the total number of women who received educational information exceeds 250,000. WON reports that approximately 650 breast cancers have been detected.
Each patient receives a mammogram, clinical breast exam, and breast self examination instruction. Films and clinical breast examination assessments are interpreted by our board- certified radiologists. WON has provided over 145,000 mammographies over a period of 20 years. Too many women, either because they are uninformed, poor, with no insurance or inadequate insurance, or living in culturally cloistered communities where religious beliefs and culture are strong deterrents to breast screening, do not take this life saving test. In the greater New York Metropolitan area we are able to reach women via health fairs, senior citizen groups, elected officials, union leaders, school administrators, parent/teachers association, religious organizations, and other non-profit organizations at no out of pocket cost to the patient.
Only a minuscule percentage of women (6% according to the latest study conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital) have a mammogram every year, thus forgoing the only way to reap the full benefits of early detection. WON sends reminder letters to all the women screened the previous year and, if no answer is received, phone calls are placed to the women which encourages them to make their next appointment.
Women that require follow-up because of an abnormal mammogram or clinical breast exam, are contacted by phone by a WON navigator. The navigator explains in plain terms the nature of the abnormality and answers any questions or concerns the patient may have. The navigator will arrange a follow-up appointment with an appropriate provider usually at no cost to the patient. The navigator continues to follow the patient through the diagnostic process to insure she complies with follow-up recommendations and completes follow-up. Navigators request follow-up reports and document all correspondences. Final outcome is recorded for the purposes of statistical analysis. The WON staff also refers symptomatic and high-risk women, who should not be seen on the van, to high risk breast cancer centers and specialist in their area.
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