Small change leads to a 27% increase in cancer screening rates at Philadelphia police department

PHILADELPHIA - Dec. 23, 2019 - PRLog -- In the United States, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths. The American Cancer Society predicts that almost 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer will be reported in 2019 alone.

To combat the alarming rates of colorectal cancer diagnosis, Law Enforcement Health Benefits (LEHB), the health benefit manager for the Philadelphia Police, Deputy Sheriffs and County Detectives, made a small change in the way they approached colorectal cancer screening.

This year, rather than waiting for Officers to visit their primary care physicians, Officers were given the option to receive a completely free colorectal cancer screening kit shipped directly to their home.

"Time is a huge barrier in increasing colorectal cancer screening rates" said Chelsea Moran of ColonoscopyAssist, the program behind the campaign. "people just can't fit screenings into their busy schedules. Offering at-home screening options that don't require individuals to schedule a doctor's visit is effective just because of its convenience.".

Over the short 90-day span of the campaign, the number of members screened increased by a whopping 27%. "Colon cancer screening is important to the City of Philadelphia, and we encourage all our employees to be screened" noted Philadelphia City Council President, Darrell L. Clarke in regards to the campaign. The innovative approach to increase screening rates not only saved hundreds of Officers time out of their busy schedules, but it also provided a much more cost effective way for the city to screen their community.

Jack Gaittens, the Administrator of Law Enforcement Health Benefits stated he plans to make this an annual campaign in an effort to keep their community cancer free.  "The return on investment is significant, taking into consideration that the screenings helped avoid cancer treatment costs and potentially saved the City over a million dollars".

Visit https://colonoscopyassist.com for details.