Rural Health Funds Will Help Replace Aging Mobile Cancer Screening Unit

A high-tech bus that’s crisscrossed the state offering mammograms to patients in rural communities is about to be replaced.  

The WVU Cancer Institute’s mobile screening program has performed more than 40,000 cancer screenings since 2009.  

Bonnie’s Bus, loaded with mammography equipment, has been a central part of that effort for nearly a decade, but the bus is nearing the end of its operational life. 

Nearly $1.4 million in Rural Health Transformation Program funds will be used to replace the bus, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Monday. 

“We’re helping to provide a new mobile unit with updated equipment and better technology while expanding breast and lung cancer screening services across rural West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “The program plans to hold up to 168 mobile screening events each year with the capacity to serve more than 5,300 patients annually.” 

“Where you live should not determine the quality of care you receive, but in a rural state like West Virginia, we also know that distance, transportation, and access to services can make a real difference in someone’s health,” Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals, said. ” Sometimes the most meaningful innovation in health care is not a new building or a new piece of technology. It’s simply finding a better way to reach people and increase access where they are.” 

The award is part of a federally-funded statewide effort to improve access to healthcare in rural communities.