The Welch Allyn Corporation via Heart to Heart International has awarded a major equipment donation to the Women of W.O.R.T.H. clinic in Rome. Welch Allyn is a leading manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment and Heart to Heart International is a non-profit working to improve global health through humanitarian initiatives that connect people and resources to a world in need. The equipment donation for W.O.R.T.H. is a video colposcope along with an image capture system for a laptop computer. The colposcopy will allow W.O.R.T.H. to provide needed follow-up for women who have abnormal Pap smears and the image capture system will allow for remote consultation for complicated cases.

Every year in Georgia over 400 women are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and around 120 women die from this completely preventable cancer. Unfortunately, uninsured women are at greatest risk for developing cervical cancer because they cannot afford preventive health care. Cervical cancer is preventable with vaccination and timely Pap screening and cervical cancer is treatable when found in early stages. The W.O.R.T.H. clinic has found that most uninsured women who are diagnosed with an abnormal Pap smear receive no gynecology follow-up because of the cost of medical care.

W.O.R.T.H. actively recruits women who are most at risk for cervical cancer and who will benefit the most from screening. In addition to regular operating days, the W.O.R.T.H. clinic has sponsored eight free Pap screening days since opening in 2008. An analysis done in January this year showed that 15.6 per cent of Pap smears done for W.O.R.T.H.’s clients return with cellular abnormalities. W.O.R.T.H. has continued to have an influx of high-risk women and another recent analysis of our 2012 numbers showed an abnormal Pap rate for W.O.R.T.H. clients of 21 percent; a rate that is three and a half times the national average.

The national average for abnormalities is 6 per cent. To date in 2012, W.O.R.T.H. has referred eighteen women with high-grade abnormalities or cancer for treatment.

W.O.R.T.H. has received assistance from small grants to pay for the laboratory fees to process Pap smears and biopsies and will continue to rely upon community support in the future. The clinic is located at 1513 Dean St. in Rome and may be reached at (706) 232-3408.

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