Boone County Public Health and Human Services partners with The EquipmentShare Foundation

(COLUMBIA, MO) - Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) is partnering with two organizations to offer free mammogram sessions for up to 50 uninsured individuals in the Boone County area at MU Health Care’s Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The organizations helping to provide this opportunity are The EquipmentShare Foundation, an employee-led non-profit affiliated with EquipmentShare, and JCB, the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment.

Uninsured individuals interested in receiving a free mammogram can contact PHHS Community Health Worker Verna Laboy at 573.817.6413. There are 25 spots still available.

The appointments are roughly 30-minute individual and private sessions that will be scheduled at the patient’s convenience along with availability at Ellis Fischel.

"Thank you to The EquipmentShare Foundation, JCB and Ellis Fischel Cancer Center for their partnership and commitment to helping uninsured members of our community receive this care," PHHS Assistant Director Rebecca Roesslet said. "This is an example of the partnerships our new community health worker program strives for so we can best serve our residents."

According to the CDC, approximately 288,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.

"We know that breast cancer is most treatable when it is detected early and a mammogram is the best way to catch breast cancer in its earliest stages," Ellis Fischel Cancer Center Director and Chief of hematology/oncology Dr. Gerhard Hildebrandt said. "We are grateful to The EquipmentShare Foundation and JCB for their generous donation to provide underserved individuals in central Missouri access to this important detection tool."

The EquipmentShare Foundation was founded in 2020 with the desire to build stronger communities through support of local and national charitable organizations that align with EquipmentShare employees’ philanthropic initiatives. One such initiative is to support breast cancer research.

"I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming The EquipmentShare Foundation’s free mammograms. This really hits home personally - my mom and my sister have both had major breast cancer surgeries this year," The EquipmentShare Foundation President Bartley Stevenson said. "A mammogram is one way for early detection of breast cancer. I believe helping people in the community with a mammogram is one step in many steps to building a better community. We are blessed to have employees from EquipmentShare as partners in our community, as well, to make events like this and more happen in the future."

"JCB is honored to support The EquipmentShare Foundation’s free mammograms and the important work the teams at MU Health Care and The EquipmentShare Foundation are doing for individuals in the Columbia community," JCB Marketing Manager Pam Veiock said. "Preventive health care and testing is critical in the fight against breast cancer, and we’re glad our support of this initiative helps provide even more access to mammograms."