Community-Based Screening Programs
The Baltimore City Health Department, in its 1999 Annual Report, cited cancer as the leading cause of death among African-American males. This report, as well as the Maryland Department of Health’s Baseline Cancer Report in August 2000, confirmed that African-Americans bear a disproportionate share of the cancer burden. The disparity in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates for Baltimore City is among the greatest nationwide. The Johns Hopkins Cigarette Restitution Fund (CRF) Public Health Grant is designed to address this public health problem by focusing on prostate cancer in Baltimore’s African-American and other medically underserved populations. Cancer prevention, by both education and screening, is conducted through collaborations with community-based and faith-based partners throughout Baltimore City. The key to start-up and continued success of this program, which brings services into communities, is its partnering with inner-city clergy, community organizations, hospitals and other health care providers.
Under the direction of the Baltimore City Community Health Coalition, Hopkins clinicians collaborate with colleagues at the University of Maryland, the Baltimore City Health Department, and the Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to achieve the goals of the Baltimore City Cancer Plan at Johns Hopkins (BCCP). The BCCP provides no-cost prostate cancer education, screening, diagnosis and treatment for uninsured and underinsured residents of Baltimore City. Community-based and Hopkins-based physicians perform prostate cancer screening that involves two tests: 1) a blood test that detects the prostate specific antigen or PSA, and 2) a digital rectal exam or DRE. The testing is done at various community sites and clinics (including Wald Clinic, Shepherd’s Clinic, East Baltimore Medical Center (EBMC), and Baltimore City Housing and Development). Case management and necessary follow-up care or treatment is also provided.
Hopkins has broadened its program to include community education, screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer through a grant from the Avon Foundation. Johns Hopkins will soon offer similar services for colorectal cancer, through a new pilot project grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to DHMH. Through this program, five local Hospitals, including Johns Hopkins will provide no-cost colon cancer screening for uninsured and underinsured residents of Baltimore City.
For information on cancer screenings in the community, call 410-955-1348. |
