Altruist Realty always donates back to the community. For October they decided to dedicate the whole month to breast cancer awareness and mammograms for the uninsured.
“It may be too late for someone to get a mammogram and get checked out so it’s very, very important,” said owner/broker David Chinn. “The preventive is really the reason we do it.”
Mammograms are a lifeline and for those who are underinsured and uninsured, having access to one could make all the difference.
When Chinn reached out about the opportunity, Beckley ARH was already running an October special for $50 mammograms.
“I said absolutely, let’s see if we can extend our special to include these folks here,” said chief operations officer, Beau Masterson. “So we’re gonna be able to offer mammograms to 60 patients that were not gonna be able to get mammograms. And the key to survival is early detection.”
Altruist donated $3,000 to United Way, who in turn will collaborate with Beckley Health Right to identify women who qualify for these free mammograms.
“By partnering with Bar H they give us a discount rate to help with this — not just for October but throughout the year,” Chinn said.
There’s no way to underestimate the importance of this collaboration because we’re talking about a demographic of patients who often don’t have access.
“Uninsured patients really have a terrible stumbling block when having to pay a cash payment for well-patient screenings; they’re vitally important for women’s health,” said United Way of Southern WV’s Trena Dacal. “This is gonna provide that for people who otherwise would not get them.”
The more patients they can get in and more people they can see, will allow everyone involved to save lives.
“There’s not a person I’ve ever met that’s not been impacted by breast cancer,” Masterson said. “So if we can do anything to make sure that we are putting a stop to this disease or at least getting in front of it; it’s very important to all of us.”
