Chester County Hospital receives grant to provide transportation for people in cancer treatment
To alleviate the financial burden of cancer treatment, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recently awarded a $15,000 transportation grant to The Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital. The grant is one of 380 transportation grants totaling $6.2 million awarded to health systems nationwide. The funding will allow health systems to provide eligible patients with an estimated 577,350 rides to treatment.
“This special grant from the American Cancer Society will benefit so many patients receiving cancer treatment at Chester County Hospital,” said Michael Duncan, president and CEO of Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital. “We continuously strive to find new ways to support our community in getting access to health care, and this grant will certainly lessen the burden for some of our patients.”
Why transportation funding is needed
Lack of transportation to treatment prevents many people living with cancer from getting high-quality care which worsens cancer outcomes.
- In a study presented at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium, American Cancer Society researchers found that 2.8 percent of cancer survivors reported delays in care due to transportation barriers. Cancer survivors who delayed care due to lack of transportation were more likely to use the emergency room and had the highest risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality.
- According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Facts & Figures 2022-2024, cancer survivors experience greater financial hardship than the general population for many reasons including the inability to work. They also have higher out-of-pocket medical costs compared to people without a history of cancer. The economic burden of cancer is more profound in survivors who are younger or were diagnosed in childhood, underinsured or uninsured and have lower incomes.
“Not having access to high-quality cancer treatment due to where you live contributes to the disparities we see in cancer outcomes. It’s important to provide the funding and programming needed to keep a lack of transportation from impacting survival,” said Arif Kamal, MD, chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society. “The local health systems we partner with across the country use this funding to deliver assistance directly to the patients who need it most.”
Service in action
Every day, the people of Penn Medicine work alongside our community partners to provide compassionate care and connect people to the resources and tools they need to overcome barriers to better health.
The American Cancer Society believes all people should have a fair and just opportunity to live a longer, healthier life free from cancer regardless of how much money they make, skin color, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or where they live. In addition to providing transportation funding to health systems, the American Cancer Society runs a Road To Recovery program that provides free rides to and from treatment.
About Chester County Hospital
Founded in 1892 as the county's first hospital, the non-profit has grown into a 329-bed acute-care inpatient facility in West Chester, PA. Chester County Hospital has outpatient services in Exton, West Goshen, New Garden, West Grove, Jennersville and Kennett Square, PA. In 2013, Chester County Hospital became part of Penn Medicine, which is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to medical education, biomedical research, and excellent patient care. In 2020, Chester County Hospital completed the largest expansion in its history. The project welcomed a state-of-the-art procedural platform with 15 operating room suites, a 99-bed patient tower, a new main entrance, and an expanded and renovated emergency department.