Hitting the Road

Photography by James Moore

Mobile mammography unit brings screenings within reach of more women

Angel Hensley, RTRM, was perfectly happy in her role as head of X-ray for Ozarks Healthcare until she received a clear message that her true calling was elsewhere — to the health care system’s mobile mammography unit unveiled last spring. 

“I just felt like it was a call from God, that He was directing me into that,” she said.

Hensley, accompanied by sidekick Jennifer Thompson, spends three days a week on average traveling with the new mobile unit visiting locations around West Plains to provide women with breast screenings who might otherwise not have access or lack the means to travel to area health care centers. 

Each visit can accommodate a patient every 30 minutes, and while that caseload currently happens only occasionally, numbers have been trending up. 

“We can see about 14 in a day if we have a completely full schedule, which is still a little rare for us right now,” she said. “This is only our third month out on the road, and we are seeing numbers from nine to 12 right now. We do have a location this week with 14 and another location with nine. We’re gradually building it up and getting them there.”

Hensley said the initial months of operation have also helped identify the areas of greatest need which will result in fine-tuning future visits. While that will take some time to shake out, one thing’s already for certain:  The $800,000 custom rig is impossible to miss, housed in an RV bus chassis and wrapped with bright pink graphics announcing its presence. 

“Our furthest location right now is Poplar Bluff and Fordland,” she said. “Those communities actually have imaging departments, but a lot do not accept Show-Me Healthy Women’s vouchers which allow women to get free screenings. That’s why they call us in to do mammograms — to take care of those women who otherwise aren’t able to get coverage.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the second-most common cancer among women in the U.S. behind only certain forms of skin cancer. Detecting breast cancer early reduces the risk of death from the disease by 25% to 30% or more. Women should begin having mammograms yearly at age 40, or earlier if they’re at high risk.

The mobile unit became a reality after more than a year of dedicated fundraising by the Ozarks Healthcare Foundation. The effort was aided by individuals and businesses in the community which hosted special fundraisers or donated portions of proceeds to the cause. 

The unit features advanced 3D mammogram screening technology, which delivers more complex and detailed images and creates quicker screening time with less discomfort. This technology is also able to read denser breast tissue, which can be typical in younger women. Changing and waiting areas are also included in the unit.

Chief Mammographer Glenda Kentner, RTRM, has seen screening technology evolve for three decades. Yet there was still much to learn when it came time to train on the mobile unit’s high-tech equipment.

“First, to be a mammographer, you have to go through a separate certification on top of what you already are,” she said. “You have to take a state exam and a national exam before you’re even qualified to go out and more or less do it without supervision. After you do that, you have to take a lot of hands-on classes and training. It’s kind of extensive.” 

Kentner said while fundraising took a year, the idea of a mobile unit was something that had been floated for some time before that. 

“The idea for the mobile unit has been around for a long time, probably about five years,” she said. “When I went into mammography, there was such a need, and there’s still a need in the rural areas. People who live in a little outlying town may be elderly, or they may be afraid to drive to West Plains. They feel this is a big city. This finally allows us to reach people who are not into our mammography population and get them included.”

Even being packed with the latest in screening technology, it still takes a lot of work to get the job done, not the least of which is recalibrating the equipment after traveling to help ensure an accurate scan. 

“Each time that bus is moved, Angel has to do all the quality control all over again, complete QC,” Kentner said. “We have to make sure the very, very sensitive specs are in line before she can do another mammogram. We are tested regularly over that; we have to pass that inspection each time the bus is moved.

“What people don’t realize is how many early mornings and how many late nights operating this new mobile unit takes. It’s pretty exhausting, and it takes a special person to be able to do that. Angel has the kind of personality that just makes everybody feel welcome; we have heard from many people who say nobody but Angel can do my mammogram.”

Hensley deflects such praise, saying it takes a team effort to produce a satisfactory patient experience. She said she wants rig usage to reach its full capacity, knowing that each screening can mean a life saved.

“Success is a full schedule. That would be fantastic,” Hensley said. “We hear a lot of stories that patients tell us when they arrive, about how they would not have come to the hospital and therefore they would not have gotten their mammogram had we not been there just a mile away from where they live. They are always very appreciative and thankful. Hearing stories like that is success for me.”