STA Florida Selects the Promise Fund of Florida to Honor as its 2024 Charitable Foundation

The Promise Fund of Florida inspires stories of hope and transformation in women’s healthcare. The Promise Fund of Florida, a remarkable not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2018 by Nancy G. Brinker in honor of her sister, Susan G. Komen. Their mission is to ensure that every woman has access to preventative screenings and treatment for breast and cervical cancer, regardless of the barriers to care.

Breast and Cervical Cancer, when detected early, boast impressively high cure rates of 99% and 95%, respectively. Such advancements in medical science and early detection techniques are a cause for celebration. However, it is disheartening to witness the number of women still facing challenges in accessing the healthcare they desperately need.

Enter the Promise Fund, the hero of this story. Through its innovative Continuum of Care model, the Promise Fund is creating systemic change in healthcare service delivery. Patient Navigators, the organization’s compassionate and well-trained superheroes, build trusted relationships with patients. These navigators are culturally competent, bilingual, and carefully selected from the community, undergoing rigorous training in breast and cervical health, navigation, and reporting. They help patients overcome barriers to care, arranging transportation, childcare, and translation services.

The Promise Fund has partnered with esteemed providers, including Tenet Healthcare Corporation (state-wide), Baptist Health South Florida – Baptist Cancer Care, and Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa, to offer pro bono or reduced-cost healthcare services, thus alleviating the burden of the complex healthcare system.

In 2020, the Promise Fund piloted a co-located Women’s Health Center at a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (FQHC) in West Palm Beach, Florida. FQHCs are vital community-based facilities that provide comprehensive primary care services to uninsured or low-income individuals in areas of high need. The center offers mammography screening, breast ultrasound, cervical health services, and more.

The impact of the navigators and the Women’s Health Center has been remarkable, engaging over 25,000 women, treating over 80 cancers, and helping more than 5,000 women find medical homes. Additionally, over 19,000 women received education and outreach, while more than 4,000 mammograms and 2,000 pap tests were conducted at little to no cost to the patients.

The Promise Fund’s patient-centered approach has yielded impressive results. Over 98% of women navigated by the organization comply with receiving their screening mammogram, far surpassing the national average. Research consistently shows that patient navigators significantly improve patient outcomes by facilitating early screening and timely access to treatment, reducing disease progression and healthcare costs.

Buoyed by the success of their Women’s Health Center, the Promise Fund is replicating this model in three additional FQHCs in Palm Beach and Broward County and expanding to Miami-Dade, St. Lucie, and Martin Counties. They are also making waves at the state-level, collaborating with the Florida Association of Health Plans and hosting Legislative Receptions in Tallahassee to advocate for women’s health, health equity, and access to care.

With continued support, both public and private, the Promise Fund aims to expand navigation services and co-locate Women’s Health Centers statewide and beyond, leaving no woman in Florida without essential breast and cervical cancer resources.

Your support will make a meaningful difference in the lives of countless women, empowering them to access life-saving healthcare services without barriers.

Let us come together to celebrate the triumphs of medical science and early detection while ensuring that every woman can access the care she deserves. The Promise Fund is making a profound impact, and with your help, their mission can reach even greater heights.

To learn more about the Promise Fund, visit www.promisefundofflorida.org