Grants Awarded for Cancer Screening Intervention, Diabetes Programs

• American Cancer Society: The group on Thursday awarded Kevin Fiscella, a University of Rochester researcher, a $1.06 million grant to boost the number of minority and uninsured individuals who receive screenings for breast and colon cancers. Under the four-year program, Fiscella will create a registry of patients who visit federally funded health centers in the Rochester area. He also will establish intervention strategies, including letters, phone calls and home visits, to follow up with people who have not received screenings. Fiscella intends to launch a pilot of the project in which doctors and outreach workers will test which messages and interventions work best (Wang, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 1/11).
  
  
• El Rio Community Health Center: The Bank of America Charitable Trust Foundation has given the community center $250,000 for the Pharmacy-Based Diabetes Program, which provides one-on-one counseling and diabetes management to a patient population mostly made up of minorities. Through the program, patients with diabetes are placed on regimens specifically designed for them. The money will cover a new, part-time prescribing pharmacist, which will help the program serve 200 additional patients (McClain, Arizona Daily Star, 1/8).
  
  
• St. John's Regional Medical Center: Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) said in a meeting with hospital President T. Michael Murray, physicians, policymakers and local residents that the hospital's Latino Healthcare League diabetes initiative will receive $390,000 in federal funds. John Cortes -- director of education, health ministries and healthy beginnings at the hospital -- said the funding will go toward hosting a diabetes academy to teach physicians about diagnosing and advising patients who are prediabetic or have diabetes. The funding also will be used for youth outreach, including advertisements, fliers and school programs (Guzik, VC Reporter, 1/10).