Making health programming accessible for residents in the northeast portion of the Greater Houston area has been an ongoing goal for the Northeast Hospital Foundation for almost 40 years, said Brooke Baugh, director of development and programs for the Northeast Hospital Authority & Foundation.
Through offerings such as free breast cancer screenings and wellness lunches for seniors, the foundation continues to honor that mission, she said.
The history
Fifty years ago, in 1976, the Northeast Hospital Authority was created with the goal of bringing a hospital to the northeast Houston region, Baugh said. The authority created the Northeast Medical Center, which opened Oct. 7, 1977.
About one decade later, in 1987, the Northeast Hospital Foundation, a nonprofit, was launched to help fundraise for various programs offered by the Northeast Hospital Authority, Baugh said.
Measuring the impact
Currently, the foundation’s main program is Project Mammogram, which provides free breast cancer screenings to uninsured and underinsured patients, Baugh said. Project Mammogram was founded in 2001 by the Northeast Hospital Foundation with $5,000 in starting funds from the Kingwood Women’s Club.
In the last 25 years, Project Mammogram has provided services to more than 13,000 people, Baugh said. The program serves residents in 26 ZIP codes in parts of Harris, Montgomery and Liberty counties.
“The fact that we've been able to screen over 13,000 residents, and we are detecting two to 12 cancers per year for women who are ... uninsured or underinsured—I think that's a pretty profound impact,” Baugh said.
What they offer
The program offers services including:
- 3D screening mammograms
- Diagnostic mammograms
- Ultrasounds
- Biopsies
- Follow-up treatments, as needed
Other programs created by the Northeast Hospital Foundation include
programming for seniors, Baugh said. The organization aims to help local seniors through health fairs, educational luncheons, and providing health resources and supplies.
“For example, last month we had a woman come in and talk about pilates and how important core strength is as you age,” Baugh said. “So, we sent the seniors home with some exercise bands and some grip strengtheners and things that they can use at home to reinforce what they've learned.”
Latest update
Recently, the Northeast Hospital Authority and Northeast Hospital Foundation made a $235,000 donation to Lone Star College-Kingwood’s health care programs, which will be used to purchase new equipment and fund student scholarships, according to a May 28 news release from Lone Star College System.
The funds will be used for LSC-Kingwood’s Respiratory Care and Polysomnographic Technology programs, according to the release. Equipment to be purchased with the funding includes home sleep apnea tests, video laryngoscopes, a transcutaneous CO2 monitor and a simulation mannequin.
Additionally, leaders at the Northeast Hospital Foundation have been working for years on expanding the services Project Mammogram offers, Baugh said. In May, through a partnership with Memorial Hermann-Northeast Hospital, the organizations began new services for patients, including: wellness exams with blood work and urinalysis; well woman exams with pap smears; HPV co-testing; and CA-125 ovarian cancer screening.
