Grady’s Mobile Mammography Bus Cruising Toward a New Milestone

One year after first hitting the roads around Atlanta, Grady’s Mobile Mammography Bus continues to play an essential role in helping women receive much-needed breast and cervical cancer screenings.

This free service, launched during Breast Cancer Awareness Month last October, has provided nearly 2,000 mammograms to local women who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them.  By visiting local neighborhoods and retail areas, the Bus is helping people overcome other significant hurdles as well, including lack of transportation and the inability to take time off work for a doctor’s visit.

“Getting the care to them in their community has been life-changing for so many women,” Dr. Kelley Carroll, Chief Ambulatory Officer at Grady Health System, told 11Alive News. “We have so many stories of women who had their first mammogram because the bus was out in the community.”

The Mobile Mammography Bus is one of the many ways Grady is addressing health disparities in our community. Through its own extensive research, Grady has identified the zip codes where people have the lowest life expectancy rate and is directing vital health programming into these areas.

“We know that increasing access to preventative services like mammograms can make a significant impact on people’s overall health,” concluded Grady in its 2023 Health Equity Annual Report.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women (except for skin cancer) in the United States, with the American Cancer Society estimating there will be more than 310,000 breast cancer diagnoses this year. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer panel of national experts that advises the federal government, recommends that women aged 40-74 receive a mammogram every other year.

“We are grateful for the support of generous donors that is helping Grady expand access to care through resources like our new mobile screening unit,” said Joselyn Butler Baker, president of the Grady Health Foundation. “This is another great example of how investing in Grady can make an incredible impact on our community.”