HAMPTON, Va. — A Hampton hospital is taking a step to help employees, in honor of September being Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
For the first time, Sentara is offering employees at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton a prostate cancer screening while they're at work.
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It’s done by a blood draw. Employees should get their results back within seven business days. Sentara is calling this a pilot program that can hopefully be offered at other Sentara hospitals.
Sentara CarePlex Hospital Operations Manager Ebony Baines said Sentara's corporate health impact and engagement team came up with the idea and it has generated a lot of interest.
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According to Sentara, the company’s hospital in Hampton was chosen as the starting location for the program because the Virginia Department of Health reports men in Hampton have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer compared to men in the rest of the state. The hospital also notes that the VDH reports men in Hampton are more likely to die from prostate cancer compared to men in the rest of the U.S.
Sentara CarePlex Facilities Manager David Smith is one of the employees getting the blood test. He says he has a history of prostate cancer in his family.
"I figured you go to the doctor annually and all and you think, ‘Hey, if they find something, they’ll let you know.’ [I didn't realize] until this came up and the conversations were being had by folks here at Sentara when they were going to do this and they were putting the program together, this (screening) is specifically looking for that," Smith said. "I was, like, ‘Oh, wow. Interesting to know.’ I just assumed because I was going to the doctor, he might find it one day if I had it. Not always the case."
He said he's also convinced some of his co-workers to get tested too.
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The screenings will be offered September 17 and 18 at the hospital from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Employees will have to use their insurance to cover the cost of the screening. For employees who don't have insurance, Sentara offers financial assistance options.
On September 27, Sentara will also partner with Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute to offer prostate cancer screenings to the community.
