Client Susan G. Komen Expands to Include Monroe County

Client Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is pleased to announce it will not only serve Miami-Dade and Broward County but is expanding to include Monroe County, which spans from Key Largo to Key West. The expanded Affiliate will bring breast health/breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in the area. The goal of the foundation is to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cure.

“We are so excited about our presence in the Florida Keys,” said Bobbi Meyers, executive director for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate. “The expansion allows us to help those organizations who provide the necessary breast health services and education to the community through outreach and grants.” Meyers added, “Our goal is to assist in creating awareness about breast health and breast cancer.”

The Florida Keys’ lack of resources for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer has increased in the last two to three years. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® affiliates locate and fund unmet breast health needs in the local communities through extensive community health assessments. The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate found that Monroe County would benefit from grants that support programs that reach the medically underserved.

“The expansion will help us offer resources to women who have limited access to healthcare,” said Betsy Langan, executive director of WomenKind, Inc., a unique healthcare facility that offers medical services specifically addressing women’s concerns in the Florida Keys.

Another organization that is looking forward to the affiliate’s expansion is the Florida Keys Area Health Education Center (FKAHEC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote health and wellness through education, health assessments and professional development using partnerships and other contract-funded services.

“Monroe County has never had a program that offers women breast health/breast cancer education, support and treatment,” said Michael Cunningham, director of the Florida Keys AHEC. “With the support from Komen, residents will now have available resources that are needed in this area.”

The expansion of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate, which now serves the Florida Keys, earned the strong endorsement of notables, such as U.S Rep. Ros-Lehtinen; Dr. Sanford Yankow, director of Good Health Clinic; Nelson Lazo, CEO of Baptist Mariners Hospital; state Rep. Ron Saunders ; Richard D. Roth, sheriff of Monroe County; Dr. Nilda I. Soto, director of Open Door Health Center and many more.

“Without the strong support of these community leaders the Affiliate’s expansion would have been impossible,” said Patricia Thomson, new affiliate board member of the foundation. “We are taking the first steps to accomplish our main goal of spreading awareness in the Florida Keys.”

The Florida Keys residents are encouraged to get involved in the battle against breast cancer. For more information, contact (305) 383-7116 or e-mail info@komenmiaftl.org. To learn more about the foundation, please visit http://www.komenmiaftl.org/.


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Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is a client of Thorp and Company