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Boston Breast Cancer Equity Coalition Finds a New Home at Ellie Fund

Ellie Fund

Supporting Patients, Funding Care, Providing Hope

发布日期: 2022年10月4日

?The Boston Breast Cancer Equity Coalition (BBCEC) whose mission is to remove barriers in breast cancer care that contribute to disparities in outcomes for women in Boston has found - new leadership and a home at?Ellie Fund, a Massachusetts non-profit that provides support services to patients in treatment for breast cancer.

Through its advisory groups,?BBCEC?addresses the inequities in breast cancer mortality which have persisted among Black, Non-Hispanic women in the city known for its world class healthcare. A Boston-based study shows that Black, Non-Hispanic women and Medicaid-insured individuals are two to three times more likely to have treatment delays, compared to White or privately insured women. Nationally, Black women under age 65 with breast cancer have a 78% higher death rate compared to White women, despite similar screening rates.

Since 2014, BBCEC has brought together oncologists, social workers, patient navigators, researchers, health care providers, healthy policy leaders, support service providers, hospital groups, the Boston Public Health Commission and non-profits to work collaboratively on removing the barriers that contribute to the dismal outcomes found in the 2014 study published in Cancer Epidemiology. The group has hosted and presented at countless community and healthcare events, as well as teamed up with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on policy initiatives.?

As the longtime chairs, Rachel Freedman, MD, MPH and Sharon Bak , MPH, completed their tenure as co-chairs, discussions ensued about positioning the important coalition for its best success which needed to include a referral system for coalition members to have simplified access to one another’s resources for patients as well as significant funding to make sure that patients are provided critical services such as transportation to treatment, childcare and groceries. and funding. Ellie Fund, a non-profit that has provided support services to breast cancer patients throughout the Commonwealth for more than 25 years, has the infrastructure and like-mindedness to continue and strengthen the BCCEC works.?

?Recognizing that equal access to cancer care and support services is a longtime crisis that was exposed and exacerbated by COVID-19, Ellie Fund launched its?Equitable Pathways to Breast Cancer Care initiative in 2020 to examine and address the discrepancy.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) — e.g., race, ethnicity, age, income, gender, sexuality, geography, and ability — correlate with delays in screenings, follow-ups and diagnoses, and a decreased likelihood of starting and finishing a continuous treatment plan. Certain SDOH increase mortality rates by preventing minority patients from accessing the care they need, and vital services Ellie Fund provides.

Ellie Fund has four identified pathways in its initiative:?

1.?????????Expanded Hospital Collaborations

2.?????????Community Health Center Referral Programs

3.?????????A Self-Referral Platform

4.?????????Minority Inclusive Clinical Trials.?

The BBCEC’s vision to eliminate the differences in breast cancer care and outcomes by promoting equity and excellence in care among all women in the City of Boston regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, fits perfectly within Ellie Fund’s initiative.?

Meredith Mendelson , Executive Director of Ellie Fund, Nekia Clark , Director of Patient Services of Ellie Fund, and Karen Burns White , Deputy Associate Director of the?Initiative to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center are the new co-chairs of BBCEC.

“We are so proud to be locking arms together as Co-Chairs to take the BBCEC to the next step which will ensure that the critical work of the BBCEC is thriving, sustainable and impactful,” stated Clark. “Our short-term goals include launching BIPOC and Spanish-speaking support groups for women and expanding our reach centered in Boston, state-wide.”?

“It is Ellie Fund’s privilege to be the new home to the BBCEC. Our mission align so closely together it makes perfect sense to anchor the coalition within our organization and provide it the staff and financial support it needs as it enters a new post-Covid phase in health care,” shared Mendelson.?

“We are thrilled to contribute to reducing the unequal burden of cancer by collaborating to create the next agenda for the BBCEC,” stated Burns White.