Where the Money Goes

Grants To Local Organizations
TO SUPPORT THE MISSION, education, screening and treatment

Local Breast Cancer Organizations Benefit from More than $915,000 in Grants
Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate
Awards 18 Breast Cancer Education and Screening Grants

Click here to see the 2007 grant recipients

Genetic Risk Education Service of Baptist Hospital Health South Florida
Rae S. Wruble, R.N., MBA
Project Dir. & Coordinator, Genetic Risk Education Service
$35,000 - Screening
Year 4

Genetic Susceptibility Testing for Hereditary Breast Cancer for the Medically Underserved
The Genetic Risk Education Service is a community service program which offers free Education and facilitation of genetic susceptibility testing to individuals at high risk to develop hereditary breast cancer, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, or lifestyle choice.

Broward County Health Department - Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative
David L. Roach - Administrator Broward County Health Department
Trivel McKire – Program Manager
$33,000 – Screening
Year 2

Advanced Diagnostics for Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative Clients
The Broward County Health Dept., Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative recognizes that all women are at risk for breast cancer. Women age 50 and over, with little or no health insurance, who fall within 200% of the poverty level are at a greater risk. Through Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative over 1000 women are recruited and screened each year. This number is on the increase. In observation of this increase, more women need breast advanced diagnostic services.

Broward County Libraries
Bob Cannon - Division of Libraries Director
Tom Q. Wilcox - Project Dir.
$15,000 - Education
Year 3

Breast Health or Breast Cancer Project
Broward County Library (BCL) – A Division of Broward County Government – Will employ the funding to increase collection development and outreach directly to one of the most underserved portions of the Broward County community. The group is composed of Haitian-American women who comprise 52% of the current population of over 60,000 residents. A series of outreaches will be developed and presented to local community organizations and special materials will be created in the French-Creole language to increase awareness among this group of the risks of breast cancer.

Community Life Support Inc.
Dr. Pierre Blemeur M.D. PA - Dir.
Elda Santana – Office Manager
$20,000 – Screening & Education
Year 4

Health Education for Early Detection of Breast Cancer
The grant will provide physical breast exams to 300 women, and mammogram referrals performed in Community Life Support with the help of Memorial Healthcare System mammogram mobile unit if applicable. They will also provide monthly health education workshops on good breast health and breast self-exam. Community Life support will disseminate information in ethic populations’ native languages. The clinic staff speaks Creole, French, English, Spanish, Urdu, and Hindi.

Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc. (FANM)
Aline Francois - Project Dir. & Dir. of Human Services
Marleine Bastien - Exec. Dir.
$15,000 - Edu.& Screening
Year 4

Women Hand in Hand
FANM’s cancer awareness and screening project is aimed primarily at Haitian-American women. FANM proposes to provide outreach and educate 250-500 Haitian women about breast cancer health; facilitate linkage of 50-60 women for mammograms and provide case management and other support services, as needed, such as referrals to a health care provider, benefit specialist, daycare, and supportive counseling one on one. This initiative will continue to take place through community outreach, faith-based settings, community based organizations, and radio. ethnic Hispanic/Latinos, multiethnic populations from the Caribbean and the Haitians.

Memorial Foundation for the Memorial Healthcare System
3rd Jeanne Brotzky – Project Dir. &Dir., Women's Health Services
Lynn Marks – Exec. Dir., Memorial Foundation
$160,000 - Screening
($80,000 for Miami-Dade
and $80,000 for Broward)
Year 7 – Broward
Year 2 – Miami-Dade

Project Imani
Project Imani minimizes the 3 main barriers that typically prevent women from accessing these services: 1) Lack of Insurance; 2) Language/Culture: and 3) Lack of Transportation. MHS’s mobile mammography van travels to the heart of underserved communities—neighborhood and workplaces—providing free, culturally sensitive services through a competent staff. A portion of the overall funding will be allocated to provide additional diagnostic procedures. These services include: ultrasounds for 140 women, diagnostic mammograms for 150 women and biopsies for 28 women.

Memorial Foundation – Genetic
3rd Year Grantee

Breast Cancer Genetic Testing for Underserved/Uninsured Women
Will provide breast cancer risk assessment screening and counseling services to low income individuals with a strong family history of breast cancer. The risk assessment will follow criteria set by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Individuals found to be at high risk for carrying a BRCA mutation (breast cancer gene) will be offered counseling and testing at the Memorial Cancer Institute.

Miami-Dade Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Inc.
6th Theresa Marie Schilthorn – Project Dir.
Martha Sanchez – Exec. Dir.
Latasha Moore –Special Projects Coordinator
$47,000 – Education
Year 4

Miami-Dade AHEC: “Hands on Health” Youth Breast Cancer Education Program
AHEC will continue to utilize its existing breast health curriculums to educate adolescent and young adult women and men on the importance of practicing good breast health and life-long breast self examination using the high school curriculum entitled, “Hands on Health: Teens & Breast Cancer.” Through the expansion of the breast health curriculums, it is anticipated that MDAHEC will provide intensive breast health education to 2,880 young women and men in Miami-Dade County.

North Broward Hospital District
Pia Ann DelVaille – ARNP,
Comprehensive Breast Center
Project Director
Wil Trower - President & CEO
$25,000 - Screening & Education
Year 2

Every Woman Matters
The North Broward Hospital District’s Every Woman Matters mammogram screening program works collaboratively with the Broward County Health Dept., which coordinates the breast and cervical initiative. The goal of Every Woman Matters is to decrease the risk of breast cancer and premature death in medically underserved women, ages 40-49, residing in the northern two-thirds of Broward County. Every Woman Matters will provide breast care and breast cancer education, clinical breast exams, mammograms, diagnostics, and follow-up treatment for breast cancer, if the disease is diagnosed.

Open Door Health Center
Dr. Nilda Soto - Project Director
$30,000
Screening & Education

Women’s Health Care and Breast Screening Outreach Program
The goal of the Open Door Health Center Woman’s Health Care and Breast Screening Outreach Program will be to educate and provide screening services to 300-400 uninsured women over the age of 20 who are predominantly residents of rural communities within Dade County, mainly concentrating in the Homestead and Florida City areas. The ODHC plan consists of three broad categories (1) to implement 24 educational activities regarding breast health; (2) to provide breast exams and mammograms to up to 400 women from age 20 and above; and (3) to create a culturally curriculum regarding breast health in three different languages (English, Spanish, and Creole).

Project Access Foundation
Dr. Jack Michel M. D. – Project Dir.
Ricardo Mualin – Exec. Dir.
$70,000 - Screening & Education
Year 6

Breast Cancer Education Outreach and Screening Program for Uninsured and Underinsured Women of Dade and Broward Counties
Project Access Foundation provides low cost mammography to the uninsured and underinsured residents of South Florida. Project Access partners with other community based organizations for referrals of women in need of a mammogram. This program focuses on preventive medicine and health education. Project Access Foundation proposes to provide education to at least 3,000 women on breast cancer prevention and to subsidize through Susan G. Komen funds, mammography and ultrasound services for uninsured/underserved women of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

St. John Bosco Clinic
Marisel Losa – Project Dir. & MHSA, Clinic Manager
Josie Romano Brown – President, Mercy Foundation
$20,000 - Screening & Education
Year 4

St. John Bosco Clinic Diagnostic Mammogram Project
The St. John Bosco clinic is staffed by volunteer physicians, support staff and two Mercy hospital employees in Little Havana and provides medical services without charge three days a week. St. John Bosco Clinic is a well recognized health care center in the community. The most significant change since its inception has been the enhancement of the educational and preventive medicine components of the program. As a result the number of persons who seek services continues to increase. In the 2005, 10,035 patients came to the clinic.

The Wellness Community Greater Miami
Pamela Zakheim – Exec. Dir.
Peggy Rios, Ph.D. – Project Dir.
Amparo Alvarez - Community Outreach Coordinator
$50,000 - Education
Year 4

Ambassadors for Wellness: Cancer Support, Education and Hope
The Wellness Community is a national, non-profit organization that provides psychological and emotional support groups, Educational programs, exercise sessions, nutritional guidance classes, relaxation training and other programs for adults with cancer and their loved ones. All services are provided completely free of charge. The Komen grant will be used to provide programs for the underserved populations that make up the diverse cultures in Miami-Dade County. "Return to Wellness for Breast Cancer Patients," is designed for women who have completed their treatments and are recovering from breast cancer. Additionally, TWC will continue to recruit and train a group of Spanish speaking volunteers to assist in facilitating access to our free programs.

UM Center for Cancer Prevention and Genetics
Joseph A. Lucci, III, M.D. – Project Dir. & Professor & Dir., Gynecologic Oncology
Tom Gill – Dir. Research Admin.
Talia Donenberg - Board Certified Genetic Counselor
$35,000 - Screening
Year 4

Genetic Counseling and Testing for Hereditary Breast Cancer in Uninsured and Minority Patients
The Center for Cancer Prevention and Genetics services a large uninsured minority population at Jackson Memorial Hospital and provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to identify, educate and manage those with inherited cancer risk. The Komen grant provides uninsured patients costly genetic testing to identify high-risk families, resulting in earlier cancer detection and prevention.

YWCA of Greater Miami
Eileen Maloney-Simons - YWCA Exec. Dir.
Patricia Joassin - Project Dir.
$65,000
Screening & Education
Year 10

YWCA Breast Cancer Education & Screening Program
Provides education and free or low cost breast screenings to under and uninsured women in Miami-Dade, and South Broward Counties. The program will assist uninsured women in receiving clinical breast exams and screening mammograms; providing re-screening services to at least 400 of these women; and follow-up services such as diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds and biopsies for as many as 200 indigent women between the ages of 18 – 49. The YWCA will increase knowledge and awareness of culturally and ethnically diverse women by delivering education through several means, including health fairs, radio and media, and special events in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Additionally, the program will educate incarcerated women by visiting prisons at least twice a month. Also, the program hopes to increase the social support network of minority women by expanding outreach to family, spouses, and partners of program participants.