Honoring Women's
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About UsThe Honoring Women's Health Project is Family Planning of Clallam County's successful breast health program (which includes the Breast and Cervical Health Program). The 2007 goal is to continue to improve the health and well-being of medically-underserved, low-income, rural, Latina, American Indian, and or sexual minority women on the Olympic Peninsula by providing culturally-appropriate breast health education and access to screening, thus reducing mortality associated with late diagnosis of breast cancer.
FPCC provides Honoring Women's Health Luncheons & Health Fairs in rural communities and Native American reservations. These bring together community organizations, health care providers, childcare, and a nutritious lunch to offer culturally-respectful information and education to women in isolated districts. This free service is also intended to generate interest in Mobile Day Clinics and mammography screening. HWHP Luncheons & Health Fairs in 2007 include Neah Bay (Makah Reservation), LaPush (Quileute Tribe), and Hoh River (Hoh Nation and Quinault Tribe). Spanish-language Honoring Women's Health (breast health education and promotion of mammography) activities for Hispanic women are held in Forks during Heritage Days (the Cultural Cooking Exchange) in conjunction with the Forks Community Hospital Community Education Program, and in Sequim (Auntie's Day) with First Teacher. The Cultural Cooking Exchange engages Latina and Anglo women in an event in which they learn from each other with hands-on cooking activities (tortillas and apple pie). By encouraging women to move from forming handmade tortillas and kneading pie crust to using their hands on the breast models, it is hoped that such tactile continuity will create a safe and fun space to allow women to touch and ask questions in an informal and supportive environment.
Honoring Women's Health Mobile Day Clinics arrive in rural communities and Native reservations within the weeks following each Health Fair and Luncheon. HWH Mobile Day Clinics (MDC) have been extremely successful in providing breast health education, outreach and screening via mobile mammography coach (Swedish Comprehensive Breast Center) for the past five years. The trust of care built over this time period is evident by the number of returning women and the requests for additional clinics. Mobile Day Clinics are provided without charge to women and are accomplished by transporting medical and education staff, clinic supplies, exam equipment, and materials to rural sites. MDC female staff offer care in a respectful manner in a setting that is comfortable and private. Because FPCC is a Washington Breast & Cervical Health Program (BCHP) provider and enrolls eligible women seen at MDC, it provides health care and early detection screening to uninsured, low-income women who are unable to access care for a variety of reasons. The MDCs facilitate early detection of breast cancer by linking resources on-site. HWHP Mobile Day Clinics provide free childcare, a nutritious lunch and transportation for women to attend. Non-monetary incentives (gift bags) are used successfully to build on the tradition of gifting in American Indian cultures. HWHP health educators honor American Indian and Hispanic women and their culture and engage women one-on-one to present breast health and the importance of mammography. Breast Self Exam (BSE) instruction is provided, in Spanish when appropriate. Mobile Day Clinic clients are recruited by Tribal Community Health Representatives, tribal members, one-on-one meetings, letters, and phone calls. For a significant portion of rural, low-income women served, the HWH Mobile Day Clinics are the only healthcare they will access all year. In fact, one provider requests services each year because she knows that she can not reach certain tribal members, but that the HWHP can. By bringing breast health services to women, the Honoring Women's Health Project is in a unique situation to erode access barriers in rural Washington State.
Honoring Women's Health Project staff attend and provide breast health
To continue the provision of care to lesbian and bisexual women in the community, a House Party Health Fair will be offered in conjunction with Verbena. This confidential outreach health fair will encourage access to breast health screening. A Mobile Day Clinic will also be pursued in late 2007. the Project also compiles and disseminates culturally-sensitive, respectful, interesting, and medically-accurate breast health materials for sexual minority women.
Finally, in order to increase the capacity of the HWH to provide cultural respectful care, continued training is critical. Sessions in 2005 and 2006 for the care of lesbian and bisexual women (provided by Verbena) were extremely successful.
