PCHC Receives Maine Cancer Foundation Grant Award for Dermatology eConsults
Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) is pleased to announce a grant award from the Maine Cancer Foundation in the amount of $12,174 to support efforts to improve the early detection of skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The two most common types of skin cancer – basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas – are highly curable, but can be disfiguring and costly to treat. For those who are uninsured or who have MaineCare, access to dermatology services can be challenging. However through the support of the Maine Cancer Foundation, PCHC providers will be able to utilize a dermatology eConsult service through the New England eConsult Network to have highly trained specialists review complex or questionable dermatology cases and make treatment recommendations. Not only will this improve health outcomes, it will also save many patients from having to wait for a referral to a dermatologist or having to pay a substantial out-of-pocket cost.
Noah Nesin, MD, PCHC’s Chief Medical Officer, states, “On a daily basis, our providers encounter patients whose healthcare coverage limits access to specialty care. Our past experience with Dermatology eConsults proved it to be a very valuable and necessary service, where our providers could partner with eConsult specialists to diagnose and treat most cases here at PCHC. We have had MANY skin cancers treated and removed here at PCHC that may have not been diagnosed early enough otherwise.”
Through the grant, PCHC hopes to increase the early detection of skin cancers while improving our patients’ health and well-being. The Maine Cancer Foundation‘s grant is offered as part of their ongoing Challenge Cancer 2020 initiative, aimed at reducing cancer incidence and mortality 20% by 2020. They have awarded nearly $9 million since 2015 in support of this initiative, focused on prevention, early detection and screening, and access to care for all Mainers. To learn more about Maine Cancer Foundation, visit www.mainecancer.org, or contact Kristen Smith, kristen@mainecancer.org, 207. 773. 2533