Initial $5 million investment supports President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded over $5 million to 11 HRSA-funded community health centers to facilitate access to life-saving cancer screenings and early detection services for underserved populations. These first-of-their-kind partnerships are bringing health centers together with National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Centers. Today’s announcement advances President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot goals, which aim to close the cancer screening gap, decrease the impact of preventable cancers, and support patients and caregivers.
Nashville's Matthew Walker Health Center was awarded $500,000.
“Tools to fight and prevent cancer should be in reach for everyone, but, too often, that’s not the case. With so many people having missed preventive care visits and cancer screenings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we must expand access to life-saving care,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Today’s action takes us a step closer to that goal. With this move, health centers can work to close disparity gaps, delivering critical services to underserved communities in need.”
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, with nearly 600,000 deaths annually. Significant disparities continue to exist in screening and follow-up care after an abnormal cancer screening test result, based on an individual’s income, insurance status, and race or ethnicity. These cancers can be prevented or detected early through appropriate screening and timely follow-up care.
"Getting life-saving cancer screenings and treatment should not depend on where you live or what you can afford to pay,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Today’s investment helps to advance our goal of ensuring that individuals from historically underserved communities have the same opportunities to benefit from the tools we have to detect, diagnose, and treat cancer. We welcome the opportunity to partner with National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers to expand access to these critical services.”
The awards focus on increasing equitable access to cancer screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer. Health centers will conduct patient outreach in underserved communities to promote early detection of cancer, connect patients to screening services, and provide hands-on assistance with accessing high quality cancer care and treatment as needed.
The health centers receiving Accelerating Cancer Screening awards must work with NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, which will deploy their outreach specialists and patient navigators in the health center’s service area. Example activities may include care coordination; patient engagement and activation; enhancing virtual care capabilities; tracking patient screening, referrals, and follow-up; enhancing health IT workflows; and workforce engagement, training, and recruitment. NCI-Designated Cancer Centers are characterized by scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches to focus on the problem of cancer.
“This partnership between NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and HRSA’s health centers will bring to bear the significant expertise of the cancer centers in engaging the communities they serve and will help provide underserved and rural patients access to follow-up care, including screening and cutting-edge clinical trials,” said NCI Acting Director Dr. Doug Lowy. "This landmark interagency collaboration represents the kind of innovative partnerships that will further advance the Cancer Moonshot and end cancer as we know it.”
