On July 20, 2022 The Upstate Foundation reported that it has received an $81,770 grant to expand the Upstate Cancer Center’s She Matters breast cancer outreach and education program as well as support the launch of You Matter, a health careers pathway initiative for Syracuse youth (Press release, SUNY Upstate, JUL 20, 2022, View Source [SID1234616811]).
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The grant was awarded by Hologic, a global medical technology innovator primarily focused on improving women’s health and well-being through early detection and treatment.
"We are grateful for Hologic’s support of She Matters and You Matter," said Linda Veit, MPH, Upstate assistant vice president of community relations and interim chief of staff. "The generous gift from Hologic will help us to enhance and strengthen these important programs that benefit women’s health and provide youth with skills and opportunities to prepare them for careers in health care."
She Matters is a peer-to-peer outreach and education program created by the Upstate Cancer Center to reduce breast cancer disparities and improve health outcomes by making annual breast cancer screening a priority among low-income, primarily Black and Hispanic women living in public housing in Syracuse. The program, founded in 2014, works closely with the residents of the Syracuse Housing Authority.
Key to the success of the program is the recruitment of public housing residents to serve as specially trained Resident Health Advocates. As advocates, they provide culturally appropriate breast health education; navigation to screening mammography; and, when necessary, access to prompt diagnostic and treatment services. The goal of the program is to eliminate barriers to health care, change behavior, and make annual breast cancer screening a priority. Over the past eight years, She Matters has reached more than 6,000 women and facilitated breast screening in more than 800 women over 40.
Also funded by the Hologic grant is You Matter, a healthcare careers pathway for local youth. The program reaches out in non-traditional ways to elementary, middle, and high school-aged students, and works one-on-one with each student in exploring and identifying the academic pathway needed to gain a rewarding healthcare career. Upstate says that are more than 1,000 local youth are eligible to participate in the program.
The grant is part of Hologic’s pledge to donate $5 million to improve women’s health; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and social and racial inequity initiatives, particularly in healthcare.
"With support of these two important initiatives, we look forward to building a long-term relationship with Hologic, a new funding partner of the Upstate Foundation," said Terry Toscano Shenfeld, director of foundation relations at the Upstate Foundation.