Komen North and West Texas join forces, expanding to serve larger area

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Komen North and West Texas join forces, expanding to serve larger area

Tue, 07/30/2019 - 14:04
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PLANO—Susan G. Komen® North Texas (based in Plano) and Susan G. Komen® West Texas (based in Amarillo and Lubbock) announced recently that they are joining forces and will operate moving forward as one entity. As part of this effort, the new Susan G. Komen® North and West Texas will also expand their reach to include 16 additional counties that previously were not served by a Komen affiliate.

“We are excited about the potential for improved support and increased focus on fulfilling our mission this merger provides,” said Mary Frances Hoover, executive director of the new Komen North and West Texas. “Together, our two Komen affiliates have provided funding for breast-health education, screening, and treatment services for area women and men for the past three decades. During that time, we have enabled thousands of Texans to receive lifesaving access to breast-health programs, saving hundreds of lives. As proud as we are about what we have accomplished separately, we are confident that working together, we can increase that impact.”

During the past year, Komen North Texas and Komen West Texas have worked closely together, along with community partners, on a plan to increase efficiencies and better serve women and men who desperately need the organization’s support. As a result, Komen North Texas (serving 13 counties) and Komen West Texas (serving 62 counties) have agreed to join forces under the name Susan G. Komen North and West Texas.

In addition to the counties currently served by the two affiliates, the new Komen North and West Texas will expand its support to women and men in 16 additional counties (see service area map above). Breast-health services are extremely limited in these counties and were not previously supported locally by a Komen affiliate.

The merged organization can now provide lifesaving breast-health services, such as screening, treatment assistance, and patient navigation, for the women and men who live there. Additionally, by modifying its existing rural outreach programs, Komen North and West Texas can immediately impact education and awareness in these communities, with the goal of increasing early detection.

Donations will still fund local breast-health programs and organizations. Those funds will be invested in high-impact programs targeted to increase screening rates and early-detection rates, improve access to treatment, reduce barriers to care through patient navigation and treatment assistance, and provide community-resource navigation.

The organization will continue to invest in groundbreaking breast-cancer research through Komen’s national research-grants program. The unified affiliate will continue to hold its signature events: North Texas Race for the Cure, Wichita Falls Race for the Cure, Amarillo More Than Pink Walk, and Lubbock More Than Pink Walk.

The Komen grant-review process will remain the same: an independent panel of community leaders will review grant applications and determine the best way to fund Komen North and West Texas’ priority areas for where breast-health program funding is most needed.

“Each Susan G. Komen Affiliate was started by a few caring people who wanted to make a difference in their communities. Built on this foundation of generosity, strength, determination, and passion for the cause, we look toward a bright future in which we expand our pink footprint to help everyone in North Texas and the Panhandle fight breast cancer,” concluded Hoover.

For more information, call 972.378.4808 or visit www.komennwtx.org.