| Releases
& Statements
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2007
Contact: John Collins, Press Secretary
(212) 669-4193; (917) 496-4587
Release #: 023-2007
Public
Advocate Gotbaum, Council Member Oddo Push for a New Staten Island
Mammogram Facility to Help Women Access Preventative Care
- HHC currently fails to provide affordable
mammograms to Staten Island women -
STATEN
ISLAND – The New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation
fails to provide Staten Island women with low-cost mammograms,
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Council Member James Oddo said
today. Public Advocate Gotbaum and Council Member Oddo called
on the City to fund a new mammogram facility to increase women’s
access to quality preventative care. Staten Island currently has
the highest breast cancer mortality rate in New York City.
Mammograms
can cost as much as $600. Without a low-cost facility on Staten
Island, Public Advocate Gotbaum said, low-income and uninsured
women can’t access the quality preventative care that could
save their lives.
Public
Advocate Gotbaum said, “Mammograms save lives. And yet,
too many women do not have access to this low-cost, preventative
care. The City should build a HHC facility on Staten Island to
help women who lack access to regular mammograms and quality,
affordable care.”
In
2005, 26.7% percent of Staten Island women 40 and older –
nearly 27,000 women – failed to get a mammogram screening
within the previous two years. Staten Island women in particular
lack local and affordable access to this life-saving test.
“HHC
proudly touts the fact that it has invested about $3.48 million
over the last year to build ten new state of the art HHC centers,”
said Councilman James Oddo. “But, none of that money brought
a mammography center to Staten Island. HHC should increase its
mammography services on Staten Island so that our mothers are
treated the same as mothers in the other four boroughs.”
The
call for a new HHC facility on Staten Island comes nine months
after Public Advocate Gotbaum released a report stating that the
average wait time for a mammogram in New York City was 10 days
longer than the mayor’s target wait time.
According
to the latest U.S. Census Bureau Report, Staten Island recorded
the second-largest growth among counties in New York State, with
7.6 percent more residents than it had six years ago. More importantly,
over fifty thousand New York City women will turn 40 every year
for the next 20 years. As the population of Staten Island women
over 40 grows, the number of women without access to mammograms
will increase unless new measures are taken.
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