Hologic commits $20M to healthcare equality initiative

Photo | Grant Welker Hologic's Marlborough headquarters

Write a Comment

By Sam Bonacci

Marlborough medical device manufacturer Hologic has announced a $20-million commitment to Project Health Equality, a new initiative aimed at addressing health inequities for Black and Hispanic women.

The program seeks to address structural and cultural barriers preventing Black and Hispanic women in the U.S. from receiving the same quality health care as white women, according to a release from the company. It will focus initially on how health care is experienced by thousands of Black and Hispanic women in regions across the United States and then leverage partners to make sustainable health care improvements in those communities.

Hologic has made an initial $20-million investment in the project, with those funds being split between grants aimed at increasing access to care and divisional campaigns that support education and awareness initiatives, according to a Hologic spokesperson who was unable to delineate the amount further.

The grants will fund three years of healthcare centers in regions across the country through Hologic’s nonprofit partner RAD-AID in Maryland, which focuses on access to radiology and imaging technology. RAD-AID will identify communities in need and implement strategies for screening and diagnostic services for effective pathways for medically disenfranchised women to receive treatment, according to the spokesperson. Hologic’s grants will support innovative care, radiology, public education, nursing and patient navigation at clinical partner sites selected by RAD-AID as clinical partners.

In announcing the initiative, Hologic highlighted health inequalities it hopes to help address. Black women in the U.S. are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer and two times more likely to die from cervical cancer than white women, according to the company, while Hispanic women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 20% more likely to die from it compared to non-Hispanic white women.

“Our goal is to end the disconnect between the care Black and Hispanic women receive and the care they should receive,” Karleen Oberton, Hologic’s CFO said in the release. “Project Health Equality is about doing the big, bold work necessary to create equity in the here and now that can reverberate across women’s lives and society for generations to come.”