Rush-Copley Receives $150K Grant from Avon Foundation

(June 9, 2008) –   Rush-Copley Foundation recently received a grant award notice from the Avon Foundation for $150,000 to support its RC-BEAT (Breast Education and Awareness Training) Program. This program is designed to provide community-based outreach and education to expand the patient navigation program to reach low-income Hispanic women in diverse community settings in Aurora, IL.

“We are grateful and delighted to have this opportunity to work with Avon Foundation leaders on a project focused on the wellness of Hispanic women in our community,” said Barbara Graham, Executive Director of Rush-Copley Foundation,

As a result of the funding support, Rush-Copley will hire a dedicated bilingual Breast Health Outreach Coordinator and develop a culturally sensitive education program. The Breast Health Outreach Coordinator will spend time at a local church, social service agency, and migrant health center to establish stronger connections with women to promote the importance of early detection and facilitate linkages to screening, diagnostic and treatment services to the undeserved Latina women of Aurora.

“Our mission is to provide advanced medicine with quality outcomes and extraordinary care and I believe that receiving this grant allows us to touch even more lives by providing much needed information and education to women who may not have access to it,” said Mary Shilkaitis, Vice President of Clinical Services at Rush-Copley Medical Center and Principal Investigator for the grant.

The grant was one of several received by area organizations including Northwestern University, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, The Sinai Health System, The City of Chicago, Department of Public Health, Mercy Foundation, and the Hektoen Institute for Medical Research.