New Bonnie’s Bus to offer mammograms in Parsons, Rowlesburg, Blacksville, and Salem

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The new Bonnie’s Bus, a 45-foot, state-of-the-art mobile mammography vehicle, will visit Tucker, Preston, Monongalia, and Harrison counties in November, offering three-dimensional (3D) digital mammograms and breast care education to women.

A service of WVU Medicine and the WVU Cancer Institute, Bonnie’s Bus will be at:

• St. George Medical Clinic in Parsons from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 1-3. For an appointment, call 304-478-3339.
• Rowlesburg Clinic from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 14. For an appointment, call 304-454-2421.
• Olive United Methodist Church in Blacksville from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 15. For an appointment, call 304-432-8211.
• Salem Family HealthCare from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 16. For an appointment, call 304-782-2000.

The mammograms are billed to private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare, if available.  
Mammograms for women who do not have insurance will be covered by the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program (WVBCCSP) or through special grant funds from the West Virginia affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. No woman over 40 is turned away due to lack of funding. A physician’s order is needed for a mammogram.

The original Bonnie’s Bus hit the road in 2009. Since that time, the Bus has provided more than 14,000 mammograms for women throughout West Virginia and led to the detection of 65 cases of breast cancer. Many of those screened are uninsured or underinsured and qualified for screening through the WVBCCSP. The new Bus, which made its inaugural visit in July, is bigger and offers a higher level of technology than the previous Bus.

Bonnie’s Bus works in collaboration with a statewide partnership of clinicians, public health professionals, women’s groups, 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 the Cancer Institute, Bonnie’s Bus is operated in partnership with WVU Hospitals. The bus is named after Jo Statler’s late mother, Bonnie Wells Wilson.

For information on Bonnie’s Bus, see www.wvucancer.org/bonnie.     
 
Attention reporters and editors: If you are interested in covering Bonnie’s Bus when it visits your area, please call Amy Johns, WVU Medicine director of public affairs, at 304-285-7264 in advance. Out of respect for patient privacy, please do not show up at the location without scheduling an appropriate time for interviews and/or photos.