TidalHealth Mobile Mammography

SALISBURY, Md. – In this week’s edition of Health Beat, brought to you by TidalHealth, WMDT spoke with TidalHealth’s Director of Community Health Initiatives, Kat Rodgers, about the organization’s recently launched Mobile Mammography Unit.

Rodgers emphasized the importance of regular preventative breast screening for women aged 40 years and older, as breast cancer can often occur without signs or symptoms. Getting regular screening increases the chance of catching breast cancer early.

Yet, some women aren’t able to travel to breast centers for the needed screening — which is why TidalHealth launched TidalHealth Mobile Mammography, bringing state of the art 3D imaging to women wherever they’re at.

“We’re really trying to target areas where we know that, there’s less transportation, there’s less access,” Rodgers elaborated. “So thinking of Crisfield, for example, the closest center that they could get to is in Salisbury, and that’s 45 minutes away.”

But Rodgers says TidalHealth Mobile Mammography is also about spreading awareness and improving the overall health and well-being of local communities. The unit is always staffed with a nurse educator and community health worker to help share resources outside of mammograms.

“It’s actually getting into the communities and finding out what are the barriers to all of their care,” Rodgers said. “So they don’t have health insurance, they don’t have a primary care practitioner; then let’s connect those dots for them.”

The unit has been in the works for over a year, and recently made its first stop in Pocomoke City on Jul. 14. To learn more about TidalHealth Mobile Mammography and view the unit’s travel schedule, visit TidalHealth’s website here.