DPH grant to improve access to cancer screenings in Greater Bridgeport  

Fairfield, CT – Residents of Bridgeport and surrounding communities will have increased access to cancer screening services from Bridgeport Hospital, including the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center, thanks to a five-year grant of $881,000 from the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The grant will support the Connecticut Integrated Health Screening Program (CIHSP) in Bridgeport, which has high rates of breast and other cancers. CIHSP will deliver integrated early detection health screening services to the uninsured and underinsured, including breast and cervical cancer screening for women rarely or never screened, and colorectal cancer screening for women and men. The goal of the Program is to reduce the number of deaths associated with breast, cervical and colorectal cancer through early detection screening, rescreening services, and education activities.

Early detection allows for the initiation of treatment at earlier stages, when survival rates are significantly higher.

The program is a joint effort of Bridgeport Hospital and Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

“Support from the Connecticut Department of Health means we can deliver screening services so important to the early detection of cancer,” says Donna Twist, executive director of the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center. “This program will save lives.”

As part of the grant, a cancer community advisory council has been created with a mission to establish community-wide partnerships that will enhance the coordinated approach required to provide and sustain services to CIHSP participants and to support CIHSP participants and their families in adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyles in their communities.

Part of Bridgeport Hospital and Yale New Haven Health System, the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center has served more than 20,000 women and their families since it was established in 1999. A member of the prestigious National Consortium of Breast Care Centers, the center provides a wide range of diagnostic care and treatment at its Bridgeport Hospital and Fairfield locations, including medical oncology, surgical and chemotherapy services, plastic surgery, mammography and radiation therapy, and genetic risk assessment as well as opportunities to participate in clinical trials.

The breast care center office at 111 Beach Road in Fairfield also provides comprehensive women’s wellness services, including nutrition counseling, massage and Reiki therapy, wig and prosthesis fitting, counseling, yoga, Pilates, naturopathic medicine, and other patient support activities. The Center also has a satellite office at 5520 Park Avenue in Trumbull.

For more information call 203.255.5300 or visit online.

Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital). Its Bridgeport and Milford Campuses serve patients from across the region. The hospital admits more than 23,000 patients and provides nearly 350,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost efficient care to its patients and the community. www.bridgeporthospital.org