WASHINGTON, D.C.—A representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will attend an open house at Barnesville Hospital for their new digital mammography screenings.  Digital mammography—which has been shown to be more sensitive in the detection of breast cancer and exposes women to less radiation than traditional mammograms—also provides a faster and more comfortable experience for women undergoing breast health screenings, while improving image storage and transmission.

“Thanks to a vital grant from the USDA, Barnesville Hospital is able to provide women in Belmont County with access to a more accurate, efficient, and safer method of screening for breast cancer,” Brown said. “With breast cancer still a leading cause of death among women in the United States, the fight to find the most effective methods of diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer—and eventually a cure—is more urgent than ever.”

The new digital mammography program was funded in part by a $190,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program, which is aimed at expanding access to education, training, and health care resources in rural areas.  Barnesville Hospital was one of three facilities in Ohio to receive this highly competitive grant.

Last Congress, Brown was a cosponsor of the Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, which would have established a national education campaign aimed at increasing early detection and public awareness of the risks breast cancer poses to young women Media campaigns funded through the bill would have educated young women about personal risk factors for breast cancer and encouraged high-risk women to seek appropriate medical screening.  He also supported the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2009, which would have required health insurers to cover more appropriate minimum hospital stays than is currently the norm for patients undergoing breast cancer-related operations. 

Barnesville Hospital began conducting digital screenings on September 1, 2011 and is located in Belmont County.

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