THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT BYRD.

Washington, DC – Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced the awarding of more than $1.346 million in federal funding for the Marshall University Southern West Virginia Rural Preventive Medicine & “Virtual Colonoscopy” Outreach Project. The federal funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services and is the result of Byrd’s efforts as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in securing the vital funding for the delivery of rural health care services throughout West Virginia.

Specifically with this funding Marshall University’s Center for Rural Health will support the continued deployment of two preventive mobile medical units in southern West Virginia which are conducting extensive health promotion, disease prevention, and cancer screening programs with a special focus on colorectal cancer. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying those who by virtue of age, family history or other factors may be particularly susceptible or at-risk for chronic disease and colorectal cancer. The Center will also develop the technological and professional skills necessary to establish a regional “Virtual Colonoscopy” program to deploy this rapidly advancing “gold standard” of cancer screening and care throughout the region. The Center will collaborate with the professional medical staff of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in these endeavors.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. The death rate from colon cancer in the United States is about 18 per 100,000. In southern West Virginia the death rate is almost triple the national average at 52 per 100,000. In addition, West Virginians have a higher rate of chronic illnesses, particularly among those living in rural areas. West Virginia, unfortunately, ranks first in the United States in mortality rate from heart disease and number three in mortality rates for cancer and diabetes.

“This funding is simply about saving lives,” said Byrd. “With a rural population that is older, less mobile, uninsured, underinsured, and in many instances unhealthy, this funding will go an extremely long way towards increasing access to health care and catching medical problems before they become life threatening. I applaud Marshall University for this outstanding initiative which will connect our rural communities with state-of-the-art technologies.”

In 2005, Senator Byrd secured an initial $2 million to move this project forward to aid the rural populations of southern West Virginia.