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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A breast cancer diagnosis can require more than a treatment plan. Patients may also need transportation or help paying for care.
That is the role of Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley, says its president, Paul Homick. The foundation raises money to support Mercy Health’s work throughout the region, from breast cancer services and diagnostic equipment to prescription assistance and community health programs.
“Every dollar we raise stays in the Mahoning Valley,” Homick says.
Donations help residents receive care regardless of their ability to pay and address barriers that can prevent them from using medical services.
At the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center, that support helps sustain specialized care close to home.
Dr. Nicole Reyes, a breast surgical oncologist at the center, recently began performing an endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy, bringing a procedure still new to the United States to the Mahoning Valley.
Reyes says surgeons in Asia have performed the procedure for about five years, followed by its adoption in Europe. She estimates its use in the United States began within the past several months to a year.
The surgery uses minimally invasive techniques through a small incision while preserving the breast’s skin and nipple. It can treat some patients with breast cancer or reduce risk for those with a genetic predisposition, Reyes says. Patients whose cancer involves the skin or nipple would not be candidates.
Reyes completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic and trained for the procedure at Northwestern University in Chicago with surgeons from Italy and Spain. She has performed a few of the surgeries locally and reports favorable early outcomes.
For patients, the procedure expands their options without requiring travel to a larger medical center.
“When someone gets a new breast cancer diagnosis, it’s really overwhelming,” Reyes says. “People can be close to their families, to their support systems.”
She reviews each patient’s diagnosis and imaging, then explains the risks and benefits of available surgeries.
“My goal essentially is to ensure that patients in the Mahoning Valley have access to the same advanced treatment options that they would expect to find at a larger institution,” she says.
The center also brings specialists together to coordinate treatment.
“It’s hard to travel to multiple locations when you’re under that much stress,” Reyes says.
Community contributions play an “absolutely critical role” in supporting the center’s mission and patient care, she says.
Homick points to the center as an example of what philanthropy can accomplish. Dr. Rashid Abdu developed the vision, and donors helped realize it.
“The community’s support is what made it happen,” Homick says.
Donations help purchase 3D mammography equipment and support the Joanie on the Go mobile unit. The Joanie’s Promise Fund helps ensure access regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
“That’s our promise. That’s Joanie’s Promise,” Homick says.
For Greg Greenwood, that access has personal significance. His wife Alice’s mother survived breast cancer after treatment in Pittsburgh. His grandmother died when he was 4.
The couple began supporting the center in 2012 after meeting with Abdu and foundation representative Gina Marinelli. Their involvement grew into a dealership-wide effort at Greenwood Chevrolet, including participation in Panerathon, which raises money for the center.
“It’s held our attention, it’s held our heart,” Greenwood says.
He credits community support with sustaining that work and bringing businesses, individuals and families together around a shared purpose.
“This whole thing doesn’t exist without businesses supporting it, without individuals and families supporting it at a very high level,” he says.
But the foundation’s work isn’t limited to breast care. It also helps residents obtain medications, reach appointments and address everyday needs that affect their health.
Homick cites free or reduced-cost prescriptions, transportation to appointments and diagnostic testing, and dental care through a clinic at St. Elizabeth Hospital and mobile vans. The Stepping Out program offers exercise classes and nutrition programming.
The foundation partners with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. on the Glenwood Fresh Market to address food insecurity. Resource Mothers and Fathers and CenteringPregnancy aim to reduce the community’s high infant mortality rates.
Respite of Hope helps patients who are ready to leave the hospital but have no home where they can safely recover. Mercy Health and the foundation collaborate with Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, the Ursuline Sisters and Meridian HealthCare to provide a place to stay and support during recovery.
“We try to ensure access, and also services that are needed in the community to help people live a better life, to live a healthier life,” Homick says.
Mike Hripko, a foundation board member for about two years, says its role includes “filling in the gaps in some of those things that the hospital system needs.” Those needs include mobile services, replacement equipment and training for health care professionals.
The foundation also works with St. Vincent de Paul and partners involved in community health improvement.
“The foundation also actively supports a number of other agencies that are related to health care,” Hripko says.
Affordability remains central to that mission.
“There’s a great need for low and reduced cost, and in some instances, free health care, just because of the economic nature of our valley,” he says.
For Homick, those efforts share a purpose: connecting the generosity of local donors with residents who need care.
“When people contribute to the foundation, they are contributing to help the people in our valley who need it the most,” he says. “It’s really neighbor taking care of neighbor.”
For more information, visit the foundation’s website.
Pictured at top: Greenwood Chevrolet presented a check to the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center on Sept. 2. Greg Greenwood, Dr. Rashid Abdu and Paul Homick are pictured in the front row.
