Community Action welcoming mobile unit for health screenings

ALBION – As part of their mission to encourage people to take better care of themselves, Community Action of Orleans County has partnered with several health organizations to bring preventative scanning to Orleans County.

In addition, Community Action is offering free food vouchers to those who sign up for health screenings.

As the result of research by Jeanette Worsley, lead case manager/health coach at Community Action, several programs are in the works or up and running to bring preventative medicine to Orleans County.

“We are really excited about bringing the Eddy Unit from Roswell to Orleans County,” Worsley said.

Eddy stands for “Early Detection Driven to You,” Worsley said. “This will be the first time the unit has been in Orleans County.”

She explained the state-of-the-art mobile unit is equipped with a low-dose CT scanner which screens for lung cancer in less than 10 minutes. An outreach specialist will be at the pop-up food distribution from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. April 15 at 155 S. Platt St. to screen individuals for eligibility and schedule appointments. Someone will also be available at the Eastern Orleans Community Center at a date to be determined.

The Eddy unit will be in Albion May 21, 22 and 23, and location will be announced. Reservations must be made by calling Worsley at (585) 866-5494 or via e-mail at JWorsley@caoginc.org.

To be eligible, an individual must have a history of cancer of the lung, esophagus, head or neck (excluding thyroid) or, one of the three following factors:

• Be between the ages of 50 and 79
• Have been a 20-pack/years of smoking history
• Smoked within the past 15 years.

The University of Rochester Mobile Mammogram Unit will be at the Albion Pop-Up food distribution at 11 S. Platt St. on April 15 and at the Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More at 131 S. Main St. from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 15 and at the Main Street Corner Thrifts, Gifts and More from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 22. on April 22. Registration for these screenings must also be made by called Worsley at (585) 866-5404.

As part of their preventative medicine program, Community Action is offering $200 fresh food Rx vouchers, while supplies last, which can be redeemed at farm markets across Orleans County to incentivize people to participate in preventative healthcare. The vouchers will be reserved at the time individuals sign up for the health scans.

To schedule a mammogram women must be 40 or older, have been at least 365 days since their last mammogram and have no new issues. The procedure is covered by most insurances, and grant funds are available so nobody pays for screening.

Another service will be provided by the Fidelis StreetSide RV, a mobile service which will also be present at the pop-up food distribution from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. April 15. Insurance specialists will be available to answer questions about insurance enrollment and renewal, and will also provide educational information regarding breast cancer, lung health, nutrition, Lunchology menus and children’s health.

Community Action also partnered with the University of Rochester in February to bring their mobile mammogram unit to Holley Gardens and provided up to $200 in food vouchers to each of the 19 women who got mammograms.

In March, Community Action provided $10 vouchers to people who received monthly blood pressure screenings at the Eastern Orleans Community Center.

The mobile mammogram unit will return several times in April, and one is nearly all booked up, Worsley said. They have the capability to do 20 mammograms per day.