TAMPA – The AdventHealth West Florida Division is bringing breast cancer screenings directly to communities across the Tampa Bay region thanks to a new mobile mammography bus.
Community leaders celebrated the launch of the bus Nov. 22 at the AdventHealth Care Pavilion New Tampa.
It will serve as a rolling medical office, staffed by experienced technologists and equipped with advanced 3D imaging technology. It will provide women with screenings from the comfort of their community or workplace.
“By offering mobile mammograms, AdventHealth is empowering individuals to prioritize their health,” said Genia Evarts, outpatient imaging director for the AdventHealth West Florida Division. “This new bus not only represents our commitment to quality but also sets a high standard for the care we provide.”
Kristen McCall, president of the AdventHealth West Florida Foundation, described the addition as a “tremendous achievement.”
“We are grateful to our foundation donors who invested in lifesaving care and allowed this addition to be fully funded through local philanthropy,” McCall said. “The impact of enhancing access to early detection will be experienced for years ahead.”
The AdventHealth West Florida Division performed more than 7,000 mobile mammography patient screenings in 2023 in partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools, Florida Department of Health and other agencies.
Of those screenings, 1,350 were with Hillsborough County Public Schools teachers and employees.
Hillsborough County teacher Heather Leitzke signed up for a screening when the mammogram bus visited her school last year. Leitzke said she needed a mammogram because her OB/GYN of 25 years had retired.
“I got my mammogram and didn’t think much of it until I got a phone call a couple weeks later saying there were abnormal findings,” Leitzke said. “The results of a follow-up biopsy came back, and I heard the words no one wants to hear, ‘It’s cancer.’
“Fortunately, they also used words like ‘caught early’ and ‘treatable.’ I had a lumpectomy, followed by radiation and I am now six months cancer-free! Thanks to AdventHealth for having this program and making it easy for busy teachers to get this important test.”
Visit adventhealth.com/adventhealth-mobile-mammography to schedule the mobile mammography bus at a location.
