October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a reminder that early detection saves lives and everyone deserves access to preventive care. At Fourth Street Clinic, we work to make that care accessible to people experiencing homelessness by bringing essential health services directly to the community.
Our quarterly Women’s Health Day brings breast and cervical cancer screenings together in one welcoming, accessible setting, helping women prioritize their health while navigating the challenges of homelessness.
In 2012, mobile mammography partnership began when Mountain Medical brought its mammography bus to Fourth Street Clinic twice that year. By 2013, visits had expanded to every other month, reflecting the growing need for accessible breast cancer screening. Then, in 2014, we began building a more coordinated approach to women’s preventive health care. Today, our much-anticipated quarterly Women’s Health Day brings together Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Mobile Cancer Screening and Education Program and the Utah Breast & Cervical Cancer Program to provide women with access to essential screenings, including mammograms and pap smears.
Each Women’s Health Day serves approximately 20 women, helping reduce barriers such as transportation, scheduling, and navigating multiple health care appointments.
For women experiencing homelessness, preventive care can easily take a back seat to immediate needs such as finding safe shelter, securing food, or addressing personal safety concerns. By coordinating and offering screenings in one place, we make it easier for women to access care in a familiar, supportive environment.
Our outreach extends beyond the clinic, too. We have helped coordinate visits from the Huntsman Mobile Mammography bus to local resource centers, bringing breast cancer screening opportunities closer to women experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
Clinic Services Director, Kassie Shipe, has now overseen the program for the last five years. “Over the years, I’ve seen how important these screenings are and heard the stories of several patients whose lives have been changed – and potentially saved – because they were able to access preventive care. For women experiencing homelessness, screenings can be difficult to prioritize amid so many immediate challenges. Women’s Health Day helps remove those barriers and makes it easier for women to get the care they need. Knowing that these partnerships can lead to early detection and potentially life-saving outcomes is a powerful reminder of why this work matters.”
Written by: Laurel Ingham, CDO and Kassie Shipe, Clinic Services Director