St. Tammany Health System rolled out its latest mobile screening unit on July 10.
The Breathe Well ConneCTion joins the health system’s Be Well Bus, a mobile mammography unit in service since May 2021, in crisscrossing the parish to visit local festivals, health fairs, and other community gatherings.
“Our longstanding commitment to our Northshore friends and neighbors is right there in our health system’s motto: to deliver world-class healthcare close to home for everyone we serve,” health system President and CEO Joan Coffman said. “Thanks to the Be Well Bus, and now the Breathe Well ConneCTion, that care is closer to home than ever before.”
In addition to providing quick and painless lung screenings through an advanced low-dose CT unit, the Breathe Well ConneCTion also employs AI-powered technology to offer a multi-organ approach that further addresses coronary calcium in the heart, aorta measurements, and bone density in the vertebra.
“These really are remarkable tools, and I applaud everyone who helped make it become reality,” Coffman said. “Now let’s roll!”
Local gridiron hero Rich Mauti, whose family-run Mauti Cancer Fund provided funding in the amount of $500,000 for the project, commented, “This thing does maybe 2,500, 3,000 screenings a year. That’s a lot of people, and if we catch one and save one life, it’s well worth it.”
Additional supporters of the lung vehicle include members of the all-volunteer St. Tammany Hospital Guild as well as donors to St. Tammany Health Foundation’s 2024 Giving Tuesday drive.
Breathe Well ConneCTion’s introduction coincided with a free screening event for local firefighters, as called for in a 2024 act of the state Legislature in acknowledgment of firefighters’ increased risk for cancer due to the nature of their work.