About the Initiative
On April 12, 2007, a free cancer screening event was offered to the rarely and never screened population ages 35-64, who were uninsured or underinsured and lived in Crawford or Roscommon counties.

Approximately seven months prior to the event, the Crawford/ Roscommon County Cancer Awareness Committee was formed. Their goal was to provide a free cancer screening day similar to the one that had been done in the Alpena area the past few years. The women were then scheduled for FREE mammography at Mercy Hospital – Grayling. District Health Department #10 enrolled eligible people from Crawford County into the Michigan Colorectal Cancer Screening Program.

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Impetus for the Collaboration
Barb Rivenburgh, Michigan Department of Community Health, and Sandy Grushesky from the American Cancer Society had worked on the Alpena Project, and they encouraged the collaboration.

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Results
25 people received free cancer screening who otherwise may not have been screened, since they did not have health insurance that covered the services nor the resources to pay out-of-pocket.

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Lessons Learned
A single agency or group cannot pull off an event like this. Members of the collaborative group truly relied on one another to market and actually do a well-organized screening event that served people in need.

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Collaborating Partners

• American Cancer Society
• District Health Department #10
• Mercy Family Care - Grayling
• Mercy Hospital - Grayling

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MCC Recognition
"Crawford/Roscommon Cancer Screening Project” received the Michigan Cancer Consortium’s 2007 Spirit of Collaboration Honorable Mention Award. The annual award is presented to member organizations that have done outstanding collaborative work to significantly move comprehensive cancer control activities forward in Michigan.

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Learn More
For more information about this project, please contact Katy Bies, BS, District Health Department #10, 625 Courthouse Drive, Kalkaska, MI 49649 (e-mail: kbies@dhd10.org).

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last updated: 05/06/08

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