Partnership with Evening Clinic Helps ‘Working Poor’ Access Cancer Screenings

Katlyn Newberry, community outreach coordinator at the Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region

The Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region (CSP-FLR) partners closely with the weekly evening clinic held at St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center (SJNC). This clinic is staffed with medical students, overseen by professionals, and provides free health care services to uninsured and underserved adults throughout Rochester. CSP-FLR serves a similar population and focuses on educating about, and providing free breast, cervical, and colon cancer screenings to age eligible, uninsured adults.

Each week this clinic focuses on different medical specialties, including dermatology (skin), endocrinology (diabetes and thyroid disease management), neurology (brain), ophthalmology (eyes/vision), orthopedics (bones and joints), even primary care and gastroenterology (GI, digestive system). Data show that adults without health insurance are less likely to be screened for colon cancer. This is also true for adults without a health care provider.

Once a month, while the GI team is present at St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center, 417 South Ave, Rochester, NY 14620, staff from CSP are also present. These clinic nights give our staff a chance to connect with the uninsured and underserved adults using these health care services, educate community members on cancer screenings, and even enroll and follow up with uninsured individuals to complete recommended screenings.

SJNC identified that 70% of their patients are part of the ‘working poor.” Data show that there are more than 2,000 households in the zip code (14620) shared by the organization without health insurance. Additionally, the evening clinic hours have proven to be helpful for those who cannot afford to take time from work to attend appointments during typical daytime hours. Overall, this partnership is extremely valuable for the uninsured and underserved members of Rochester. Colon cancer can be prevented with screenings. We encourage adults without health insurance to contact the Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region at 585-224-3070 and learn about your potential eligibility for free cancer screenings.

Submitted by Katlyn Newberry, community outreach coordinator at the Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes Region, a New York State grant funded program managed and facilitated by UR Medicine’s Center for Community Health