Rolling Down the Highway

Jefferson Health and Dietz & Watson are a driving force in bringing healthcare to underserved communities in the Philadelphia region. Literally!

On December 3—Giving Tuesday—representatives from both organizations cut the ribbon on the second Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dietz & Watson Mobile Cancer Screening Unit, a large van equipped with private changing rooms, an exam area, and a 3-D screening mammography unit.

The city of Philadelphia is home to areas of great wealth, as well as extreme poverty, which has an overall adverse effect on the health of residents. In fact, life expectancy can vary by 10 to 20 years, depending on the neighborhood you live in.

There are almost five million people living in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s catchment area, and cancer incidence and mortality rates there are higher than national and state levels.

One major barrier to obtaining health care in poorer regions is transportation. About 25 percent of households in the city do not have a way of getting to medical appointments, including cancer screenings.

Dietz & Watson has partnered with Jefferson Health to remove that barrier. The family-owned Philadelphia meat company has funded both vans.

The first Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dietz & Watson Mobile Cancer Screening Unit hit the streets in 2021. Since that time, more than 3,000 patients have been screened; of those, 23 patients were diagnosed with cancer, and several received treatment. Screenings included breast, prostate, head and neck, cervical, and skin cancer.

The second van expands on the program and enables the team to broaden its geographic reach.

Many of the patients seen at the mobile screening units do not have insurance; for those without insurance or those who are underinsured, there is never a bill, as donor funds and grants cover the cost of the tests.

In addition to funding the mobile screening units, Dietz & Watson also made a generous Giving Day pledge of matching up to $50,000 in donations to the Cancer Center’s Innovation Fund. The fund supports innovative projects, fosters collaborations between partner institutions, and advances the latest scientific research at Jefferson.

The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of only 57 across the country to be a National Cancer Institute-designed Comprehensive Cancer Center. This prestigious designation is granted to institutions with the highest level of scientific excellence in cancer research and patient care, as well as a commitment to supporting the needs of our communities across the cancer continuum.