DOBSON — The Surry County Health and Nutrition Center recently received a grant that will help the department continue to provide breast cancer screenings for women.

The department is one of 13 Triad groups to receive a Community Grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure this year. More than $490,233.50 was awarded overall, and Surry County received $40,000 for its Surry Breast Cancer Coalition.

The grant funds will be used to provide women who are at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level with screening mammograms and diagnostic services such as diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, MRIs and biopsies. Women who qualify for assistance receive medical follow-up care as needed.

The center also has the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP), which is designed for women 40 and older. Vicky Kirkman, BCCCP and WISEWOMAN coordinator for the health center, said that some of the Komen funds will be used to target women younger than 40.

“We’re seeing women younger than (40) with breast lesions,” said Kirkman.

She said the Komen funds help fill in some gray areas that are not always covered by BCCCP, a program which allows women without health insurance to receive screenings and mammograms for breast and cervical cancer.

According to Kirkman, the center has received Komen grants for the past 12 years. But she said the department is not guaranteed to receive the grant each year. It has to undergo an application process like the rest of the agencies in the 10 Triad counties covered by the Triad Komen affiliate.

The $40,000 will help pay for screenings for 100 women and some follow-up medical services and consultations. It will help make up for some of the 40 spots that were cut from the county’s BCCCP program. Kirkman said the loss of spots for women is the result of budget cuts at the state level. Two months ago the center was told that it would not see a reduction in funding, but now Kirkman says 40 less women will be served through BCCCP.

“This grant is crucial in order for us to be able to serve the uninsured and underinsured,” Kirkman remarked.

She did say that the county did not get the full amount that it requested. “But anything helps,” she said.

In a press release, Anna Eichhorn, executive director for the North Carolina Triad Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, explained, “Unfortunately in these tough economic times the needs far outweigh our capacity to provide much needed breast health services. Our local Community Grant requests totaled $838,000, but our available funding allowed for only $490,000 worth of Komen funded services to our community; that is a shortfall of $348,000.

“As a result, people in our community are going without essential breast health services such as early detection information and mammograms that might help find their cancer and save their lives.”

Community Grants of up to $65,000 are awarded to non-profit or public agencies to provide health and breast cancer screening, education and treatment support programs for women who are underserved, uninsured and underinsured.

“There is a rising need in the county,” Kirkman noted.

Screenings take place at the health center clinic by appointment. For more information, contact the clinic at 401-8445.

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.