Newberry, MI — December 10, 2019
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $42.5 million investment in 133 distance learning and telemedicine projects through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant. Helen Newberry Joy Hospital is proud to announce they are a recipient of these funds.
This $500,000 Rural Development investment will be used to purchase telemedicine equipment for three sites at Newberry, Engadine, and Curtis, MI in Luce and Mackinac Counties. New 3D Tomosynthesis Mammography equipment will replace outdated 2D mammography technology. The new technology improves cancer detection but up to 40%, increases screening rates and speeds up diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer; providing patients with the best possible chance for an optimal outcome. These new capabilities will impact around 3,069 patients during the three-year project with utilization rates expected to continue to improve in the years following. These comprehensive breast imaging services, not only provide the latest in diagnostic technology to rural patients but will reduce patient travel by thousands of miles each year.
Holly Mischel, Director of Radiology at HNJH, explains the importance of this funding, “Our community deserves to have the very best equipment available. These grant funds ensure residents will have the latest, greatest technology for breast cancer detection leading to more lives saved.”