MedStar Health News

Funds to Aid Transportation Costs for Patients Going to and From Cancer Care

BALTIMORE—The MedStar Health Cancer Network (MHCN) was awarded a $15,000 transportation grant by the American Cancer Society (ACS), to help relieve some of the financial burden on cancer patients needing to travel to and from specialized cancer centers for treatment.

The transportation grant will benefit all eligible patients receiving treatment at any of our cancer center locations:

• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
• MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
• MedStar Harbor Hospital
• MedStar Health Bel Air Medical Campus
• MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
• MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center

More than 27,000 Marylanders are diagnosed annually with invasive cancer according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and getting to scheduled treatment may be one of their greatest roadblocks.

To help patients get the critical care they need, American Cancer Society community transportation grants are awarded at a local level to health systems, treatment centers and community organizations. These grants are available in select communities through an application process and focus on addressing unmet transportation needs of cancer patients, particularly vulnerable populations experiencing an unequal burden of cancer.

The funds will be used toward any direct patient transportation barrier to pay for gas cards, Ride Share rides, taxi rides or vouchers, bus passes, etc.

“We’re very grateful to the American Cancer Society for providing this grant,” said Albert Aboulafia, medical director for the MedStar Health Cancer Network. “The funds are an essential boost to efforts to minimize disparities in patient access to care, that may result from inequities in work, wealth, income, education, housing and overall standard of living. The ACS collaborates with community health partners to reach individuals in areas with higher burdens of cancer who are limited or have no access to transportation. Even the best treatment can’t work if a patient can’t get there.”

“Some patients don’t have access to transportation at all or are just too sick to drive themselves,” said Billie J. Baldwin, manager of the MHCN Oncology Support Services Program.

“Access to care is a big problem in our country, with lower income families, or patients living out in rural communities suffering the most from disparities. Transportation programs are vital for these patients to get the treatments they need and deserve.”

For additional information about the MedStar Health Cancer Network, go to: https://www.medstarcancer.org/ or for for information on ACS, call 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

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At MedStar Health, we use the best of our minds and the best of our hearts to serve our patients, those who care for them, and our communities. Our 30,000 associates and 4,700 affiliated physicians are committed to living this promise through our core SPIRIT values—Service, Patient first, Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Teamwork—across our more than 300 locations including 10 hospitals, ambulatory, and urgent care centers. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar Health is training future physician leaders to care for the whole person and is advancing care through the MedStar Health Research Institute. From our telemedicine and urgent care services to the region’s largest home health agency, we’re committed to providing high-quality health care that’s also easy and convenient for our patients. At MedStar Health—It’s how we treat people. Learn more at MedStarHealth.org.