News & Public Information

Press Release

Contact: Robin Kish, Administrator of Public Affairs (561) 804 - 5828 RKish@hcdpbc.org

Digital mammography at Lakeside Medical Center will be accessible to more residents thanks to a grant from the South Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Belle Glade, FL – Lakeside Medical Center was recently awarded a $16,000 grant from the South Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which notes that every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. The grant allows Palm Beach County’s only public hospital to provide free, potentially life-saving mammograms to underinsured and uninsured county residents who qualify. 

“Mammograms are a proven screening tool for the detection of breast cancer,” said Jeffrey A. McRoberts, Lakeside Medical Center’s Director of Nursing and Project Director for the hospital’s grant. “We want all area residents to have access to this preventive screening, and we’re grateful for the support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in helping us provide that service to those who need it most.”

Funded in part by a generous grant from PNC Bank, along with a Palm Beach County Department of Housing and Community Development Block Grant, Lakeside Medical Center’s GE Senographe Essential digital mammography machine generates electronic images in seconds, allowing physicians to provide patients with faster and more comprehensive diagnoses, which can save lives.
 
“Lakeside Medical Center offers technologically-advanced digital mammography screenings for earlier detection of breast cancer,” said Brian P. Gibbons, Jr., Hospital Administrator.  “We appreciate the ongoing support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and its recognition of our focus on Women’s Health services, which include primary care, maternal and child care and bone densitometry.”

Lakeside Medical Center OB-GYN physicians Sherida Williams, MD, (left) and Marian Sampson, MD, who provide Women's Health services, stress the value of digital mammography screenings in the early detection of breast cancer.

Two Lakeside Medical Center OB-GYN physicians, Marian Sampson, MD and Sherida Williams, MD, offer Women’s Health services at Lakeside Physician Practice in Belle Glade. Giving their patients greater access to important diagnostic services supports the work they do every day to help women through all stages of their personal health.

“Educating women in this community about their overall health is a priority,” said Dr. Williams. “Mammograms go a long way in enabling early detection of breast cancer when it’s treatable, and I’m excited that through this generous grant, many of my patients will be able to learn first-hand the value of mammography screening.”

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which notes that women over age 39 should schedule a mammogram annually, is the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. The South Florida Affiliate serves Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. It partners with many local nonprofit organizations to help raise breast cancer awareness and provide much needed funds to serve the community and save lives. 

To make an appointment for a mammogram at Lakeside Medical Center, which is owned and operated by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, call 561-996-6571 x286.

For more information, visit our website at www.lakesidemedical.org.

About the Health Care District:
The Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides health coverage programs for uninsured residents, a nationally recognized Trauma System, dedicated nurses in nearly 170 public schools, a pharmacy operation, a long-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, and acute care hospital services at Lakeside Medical Center, the county’s only public hospital, serving the rural western Palm Beach County communities along the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.