Bonnie’s Bus offers mammograms

Will visit Scott Depot Nov. 2; Elizabeth Nov. 3; Ravenswood Nov. 4; Buffalo Nov. 5

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Bonnie’s Bus, a digital mammography center on wheels, will visit Putnam, Wirt and Jackson counties, offering digital mammograms and breast care education to women. A service of WVU Healthcare, Bonnie’s Bus will be at Teays Valley FamilyCare HealthCenter in Scott Depot from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2; at Coplin Memorial Community Health Center in Elizabeth from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 3; at River Valley Health and Wellness in Ravenswood from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 4; and at Toyota Motor Manufacturing WV in Buffalo from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

The mammograms are not free, but billing to insurers is provided.  Women who lack insurance may be matched to government or nonprofit charities. A physician’s order is needed for a mammogram. You must be a patient of Teays Valley FamilyCare HealthCenter to get a Bonnie’s Bus appointment at that clinic.  Call 304-757-6999.  For a Bonnie’s Bus appointment at Coplin Memorial Community Health Center call 304-275-3301, and at River Valley Health and Wellness call 304-273-1033.  Screenings at Toyota Motor Manufacturing WV are only open to employees and their dependents.

During its first year on the road in 2009, the 40-foot long Bonnie’s Bus travelled 9,000 miles, visited 20 counties and provided nearly 400 mammography screenings. The goal for 2010 is to make at least 60 site visits throughout West Virginia with a focus on communities that have high breast cancer mortality rates.

Bonnie’s Bus represents a statewide partnership of women’s groups, clinicians, public health professionals and other community leaders working to help reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer in West Virginia.

Made possible by a generous gift from West Virginia natives Jo and Ben Statler to WVU’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, Bonnie’s Bus is operated by WVU Hospitals. The bus is named after Mrs. Statler's late mother, Bonnie Wells Wilson.

For information on Bonnie’s Bus, see www.hsc.wvu.edu/mbrcc/bonnie.