The Women Helping Women Committee presents a check to women’s center staff at Griggsby’s Station. Front row, from left, Beth Turpin, Myra Bleill, Debbie Muegge, Lisa Wood and Allyson Smith; back row, Lynn Kleiman, Becky Riley, Jenna Silvey, Nancy Davis, Kim Kelley, Terry Beagle, Andrea Mallory, Kathy Locke, Susie Broome, Aaron O’Connor and Tonya Galbraith.
HANCOCK COUNTY — With approximately 330 community members that attended Women Helping Women’s 25th Gala on Oct. 20, enough funds were raised to set records and purchase a second mammography machine for the women of the community.
Allyson Smith, executive director of Hancock Health Foundation, said this year’s event raised more than $138,000 to go toward supporting local women’s health care. With those proceeds raised in combination with previous proceeds and payouts from the Myra Bleill Endowment, they were able to give a donation of $372,428 to the James T. Anderson Center for Women’s Health.
“We are so proud to have had a record-setting year! Our women’s clinic’s funding needs continue to increase the more patients they’re seeing, so seeing the community step up to fill this need so generously is really special,” said Smith in an email.
Smith said that this funding provided for the clinic this year will allow the hospital to be able to purchase a second mammography machine. With this second machine, wait times will reduce and increase capacity for the women’s center at Hancock Regional Hospital.
Smith later said that for one 3D mammography machine, the cost is $465,000. With Women Helping Women being able to contribute $300,000, the hospital will cover the rest of the machine cost. The rest of the funds — $72,428 — was given to the women’s clinic which will help pay for mammograms and other healthcare services for women who are under insured or cannot afford the services.
Smith said that in addition to providing annual funding for the clinic’s operations, in the future, the committee would like to contribute some of the event’s proceeds to the Myra Bleil Women Helping Women Endowment to help provide even more long term sustainability for the clinic.
Smith said that the new mammography machine is planned to be ordered this month, but is unsure of how long it will take to get delivered. She later shared that the clinic expects to have it up and running sometime in the first quarter of the year.
“I want to thank the committee for all of their hard work organizing the event, as well as all our donors, sponsors and attendees. We are so fortunate to have such a generous community that makes local healthcare a charitable priority,” Smith said.
