Political Quotes

“Mr. President, for the past several years much of the conversation about health care in Washington has been a war of words. Today I would like to talk about a hospital in my home State that is seeking to better the lives of the women in its community, not simply with words but with action. This month, St. Bernard Hospital in the Englewood neighborhood in Chicago, announced it would provide 150 free mammograms for women. The mammograms will be for women who are over the age of 40 and do not have health insurance. For those who may not know, Englewood is a neighborhood in Chicago that struggles with high levels of crime and unemployment. The mammograms will be offered as part of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force's ``Screen to Live'' initiative. The Task Force was created in 2007, after a landmark study by the Sinai Urban Health Institute found that the mortality rate from breast cancer for African American women in Chicago was 68 percent higher than white women. That startling statistic is not unique to Chicago. According to the American Cancer Society, African American women nationally have the lowest survival rate from breast cancer of any racial or ethnic group. Not surprisingly, the study found poverty and a lack of health insurance are also associated with lower breast cancer survival. It is this disparity that led St. Bernard President and CEO, Sister Elizabeth Van Straten, to offer the mammograms. St. Bernard Hospital is not a wealthy hospital.…”