See, Test & Treat Cares for New Communities in 2024
For the CAP Foundation, spring means See, Test & Treat. Each year, the Foundation helps prepare partner institutions to open their doors to patients for free cervical and breast cancer screenings with same-day results. The program, now in its 12th year with the CAP Foundation, is a pathologist-led program that not only provides free cancer screening, but other health and social services for medically underserved communities.
Nine health care institutions across the US will host a See, Test & Treat program in 2024 including seven veteran hosts and two hospitals who will host their first programs. The nine programs hope to serve more than 500 patients. Returning for its 6th year of See, Test & Treat, University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) will kick off the schedule on April 6 in Jackson, Mississippi.
Varsha Manucha, MD, FCAP, was awarded the Herbek Humanitarian Award in 2023 for her contributions to the program and she leads the UMMC See, Test & Treat that benefits hundreds of women in the area. Dr. Manucha also received the 2023 CAP Distinguished Patient Care Award due in part to her work with See, Test & Treat. Before getting involved with See, Test & Treat she established a cervical cancer screening program in a peripheral clinic serving disadvantaged women in India.
“These awards are a powerful reminder to pathologists about the impact we can make in health care and society,” Dr. Manucha said.
Thomas Dougherty, MD, FCAP, will lead the first See, Test & Treat program for St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia, on April 20. Dr. Dougherty said he was inspired to apply for the grant after the CAP’s Engaged Leadership Academy when he heard a speech from a former lead pathologist and a patient who received a timely cancer diagnosis through the program.
“The pathologist was passionate, and the patient’s comments were inspiring. I was moved. I brought back the idea to St. Mary’s Medical Center and found many people interested but it took a while to gain traction,” Dr. Dougherty said who went on to explain that the pandemic put their initial plans on hold.
He hopes their first program will bring necessary care and attention to their community, which he described as significantly underserved with many residents having “not had a mammogram or Pap test in years, if ever.”
Dr. Dougherty said the See, Test & Treat program provides a unique opportunity for pathologists and their colleagues. “I think it’s great,” he said. “I want to make a difference and I especially enjoy interdepartmental projects that can make a difference.”
Robyn Olney, MD, FCAP, said her team at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Irving, Texas, is also looking forward to their first See, Test & Treat program on April 27.
Dr. Olney said that See Test and Treat will give their organization an opportunity to better serve their primarily Spanish-speaking patient population, many of whom are uninsured and would not be able to afford preventive care women’s services.
She added, “It also gives us an opportunity to build intra-organizational connections between our hospital-based services and our outpatient laboratory.”
It’s this type of collaboration that makes the See, Test & Treat program exciting for her and her laboratory team, Dr. Olney explained. “The thing that makes See, Test and Treat different is that we are working across our organization and raising awareness about the importance of the pathology role in health care.”
The CAP Foundation welcomes new institutions to apply for See, Test & Treat grants each year. The request for applications for 2025 program grants will open June 28, 2024.
2024 See, Test & Treat Programs
- April 6—University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi
- April 20—White Plains Hospital, White Plains, New York
- April 20—St. Mary’s Medical Center, Huntington, West Virginia
- April 27—Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, Irving, Texas
- August 17—Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois
- October 5—St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Edgewood, Kentucky
- October 19—Liberty-Dayton Regional Medical Center
- October 25—Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- October 26—Rutgers New Jersey Cancer Institute, Newark, New Jersey
