St. Joseph Receives Breast Cancer Outreach Grant

 is dedicating $100,000 to fund a new breast cancer outreach program, the hospital announced Tuesday.

Half of the funding will come from the hospital and the other half from a $50,000 grant from the American Cancer Society.

The money will be used to set up a culturally-sensitive program called "One Voice", which will campaign for breast health literacy, targeting underserved women in Baltimore City and county, including minorities and uninsured women.

“We are very excited about this project and this opportunity to have a positive impact on earlier detection and survival for underserved women at risk for breast cancer,” Dr. Michael Schultz, medical director of St. Joseph‘s Breast Center, said in a press release.

The release notes that Maryland has the eighth-highest rate of breast cancer in the nation, and the fatality rate in breast cancer nationwide is 38 percent higher among black and Hispanic women.

The "One Voice" campaign will be a partnership among the hospital, the ACS, the Sisters Network and Nueva Vida. Officials will develop educational programs, offer free mammograms and advise patients.