St. Vincent Healthcare
Billings, Mont.

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For over 108 years St. Vincent Healthcare has provided cost effective, high quality health care in the spirit of justice and charity, including outreach and education services such as breast and cervical health education to vulnerable populations, and promoting the mission of serving the poor and underserved. Central to this mission is outreach to American Indian (AI) Women.

St. Vincent's initial experience working with Montana's population of American Indian women, in 1989, led to the discovery that, not only does the population experience many complex health disparities; they are also in tremendous need of additional outreach activities such as screening services.

In Montana there are seven federally recognized Indian reservations which house 11 tribes. American Indians comprise the largest ethnic minority group in Montana, representing 6.4 percent of the state's population. Due to cultural, economic and familial hardships, many American Indian women suffer from poverty, low self-esteem, alcoholism and substance abuse, all of which can interfere with their ability to seek preventative health care. Another barrier to seeking preventive care is the location of screening facilities. Most are located far from Indian communities and lack culturally sensitive providers, thus discouraging American Indians from seeking diagnosis or returning for care.

American Indian women experience disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease and death or serious injury due to accidents than any other racial group in the state. American Indian cancer patients have the poorest survivorship from cancer five years after diagnosis when compared with other minority, poor, and medically underserved populations in the nation. Within the last few generations cancer has become the second leading cause of death among American Indian women.

The St. Vincent Avon Breast Health Education Services, which is currently receiving partial funding through an Avon Foundation grant, was established in 1989 and was called the Women Reaching for Wellness Program until June of 2004 when it was decided that a more clinical approach was necessary to continue to develop breast health services for the populations served by St. Vincent. For the past 19 years St. Vincent Healthcare has provided breast cancer outreach and education for vulnerable populations, with a special emphasis on the American Indian population.

Current funding for the program includes the Avon Fund, in-kind contributions from St. Vincent (Eva Project and program operating funds), Indian Health Services and the tribes who provide screening services during health fairs, and Montana Breast and Cervical Health Program (MBCHP) that provides the screening activities where we participate with Avon Cup Art Activities.

The Avon Funded grant supports "Screening Events," which provide American Indian women with breast screening and individual, comprehensive breast cancer early detection education.

St. Vincent Healthcare has been the recipient of an Avon Foundation grant for 10 consecutive years (2002-2011). Prior to that, St. Vincent was the recipient of Avon funds from 1994 through1997.

Each year, St. Vincent has met and exceeded its goal of providing screening services to 620-650 women and providing breast health education to over 1,200 women annually. Funding from Avon has ranged from $45,000-$60,000 annually.

The long-term goal of the screening events is to modify American Indian women's behavior to seek out wellness, which includes breast and cervical health screenings. The bridge between women and their health care providers is strengthened and the women are beginning to seek and value wellness. Through a strong provider relationship, the women are becoming even more receptive to health messages. American Indian women tell their family members and bring female family members to the next screening event. Word of mouth (fondly referred to as moccasin telegraph) is the best public awareness campaign for our events.

St. Vincent also provides the annual Capturing the Vision of Wellness Conference, the only American Indian Women's Health Conference held in Montana. It focuses on enhancing the lives of American Indian women by promoting good health and building a bridge of knowledge between American Indians and their health care providers. Special emphasis is placed on breast health education.

Contact for Avon & Breast Health Education Services:
Patricia Udelhoven, Breast Health Education Coordinator, (406) 237-3633