Great things can arise from humble, purposeful beginnings.
By the spring of 2019, the Kalispell Regional Healthcare (KRH) mobile mammography coach, dubbed The Winkley Women’s Center, had seen 11 years of service. Across Montana’s rural and remote health deserts, vital services were brought closer to those in need.
The original Winkley Women’s Center
But 325,000 miles on the engine and 25,000 screenings with the equipment (detecting 160+ early-stage cancers) had taken their toll. Maintenance and repair costs were no longer penciling out. Technology had vastly improved.
It was time for a new solution.
A bake sale for hope
Fast-forward to July of 2019. Three middle schoolers from Cut Bank, Montana — Jocelyn Taylor, Michaela Osborne, and Adysson Evans— heard about the project and wanted to help. The trio organized a bake sale and brought in $109.50, inspiring a wave of donations large and small (including checks for $10,950.00 and $100,109.50 in honor of the original bake sale bounty).
Within a few months, funds had been raised for a new mobile healthcare vehicle. An anonymous $500,000 donation secured naming rights; the vehicle would be known as Winkley Mobile Mammography. Jane Winkley was the Northwest Montana resident, philanthropist, and breast cancer survivor who made the original coach possible… So the name is a fitting tribute to a legacy of giving.
Nomad was chosen as the design, manufacturing, and integration partner and collaborated with KRH over the next year on a solution that delivers the ultimate in technology and a comfortable, positive patient experience. The vehicle incorporates leading-edge 3D imaging capabilities and supports mammography and ultrasound technologists who can connect at any time with radiologists and other colleagues at Kalispell Regional Medical Center (KRMC).
On July 30, 2020, Winkley Mobile Mammography was unveiled. And who was there to cut the ribbon? Three girls from Cut Bank whose heartfelt gesture will help save lives.
Click an image to open the gallery.
