Joining Hands for Better Health: Oatmeal Health and Lowell Community Health Center Partner to Offer Lung Cancer Screening in Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

[San Diego CA] – Lowell Community Health Center in Massachusetts and Oatmeal Health are excited to join together to help patients receive better care.

Oatmeal Health, an AI-Enabled Cancer Screening as a Service, has recently announced its partnership with Lowell Community Health Center (LCHC) to improve patient care for over 31,000 individuals by providing life-saving lung cancer screenings.

This collaboration brings together two organizations that are committed to delivering high-quality healthcare to underserved communities and is expected to significantly enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

Padmaja Sastry, Senior Director, Digital Transformation at Lowell Community Health said, “We are pleased to partner with Oatmeal Health on this proof-of-concept initiative. We are proud to continue our commitment to equitable access to innovative screening technology for all members of our community as a crucial step in ensuring that under-represented populations receive the care they deserve.“

In Massachusetts, only 16% of high-risk patients were screened for lung cancer, higher than the national rate of ~5%. This puts Massachusetts in the top tier among all states. Our goal is not to stop at 16%, with LCHC’s help we plan to increase their metrics to 70% and beyond to save the lives of those in need.

Oatmeal Health and Lowell Community Health Center Partnership

Under the partnership, Oatmeal Health will provide LCHC with access to its advanced machine learning service, which will identify high-risk patients by scrubbing EHR and claims data to determine which patients may be eligible for a no-cost lung screening.

Jonathan Govette, Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health said, “I am thrilled to partner with Padmaja Sastry and the team at Lowell Community Health Center in delivering much-needed lung cancer screenings for underserved communities in Massachusetts. Padmaja’s dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our efforts, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with her. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of those at high risk for this deadly disease.”

Improved Patient Care and Access to Services

Through this partnership, patients at LCHC will have access to a wide range of healthcare services offered by Oatmeal Health. These services include conducting shared decision-making visits, CT scan logistics such as transport and SDOH incentives for patients to attend appointments, AI nodule risk assessments from Oatmeal’s virtual nodule clinic, and culturally sensitive educational material specifically designed for each language, ethnicity, and gender.

Impact on Underserved Communities

Oatmeal Health and LCHC are committed to providing accessible and affordable healthcare services to underserved communities. This partnership is expected to significantly enhance the quality of care provided to patients at LCHC, many of whom come from low-income households and face significant barriers to accessing healthcare services. The partnership will also enable LCHC to expand its service offerings, providing patients with access to high-quality lung cancer screenings that they may not have had access to otherwise.

The benefits of lung cancer screening are particularly important for underserved communities.

In Massachusetts, 30% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage among Black Americans, significantly higher than the rate of 23% among Black Americans nationally. Similarly, 30% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage among Latinos in Massachusetts, significantly higher than the rate of 23% among Latinos nationally. However, only 22% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage among Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders in Massachusetts, which is significantly lower than the rate of 32% among whites in Massachusetts.

One of the key risk factors for lung cancer is tobacco use. The smoking rate in Massachusetts is 11%, significantly lower than the national rate of 14%. However, there is still a need for increased screening efforts in high-risk populations to ensure that all patients have access to early detection and treatment options.

With the partnership between Oatmeal Health and Lowell Community Health Center, more high-risk patients in Massachusetts will have access to critical lung cancer screening. This can lead to earlier detection and improved outcomes for those at risk for this deadly disease.

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About the Lowell Community Health Center

The Health Center has served the communities of Greater Lowell since 1970. In addition to providing comprehensive primary health care, dental services, and eye care, we also offer many specialty services. No one has ever turned away due to the inability to pay. Health Center patients may choose a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or certified nurse midwife from our team of board-certified medical providers. We integrate behavioral health services within primary care, and patients can schedule visits with our certified mental health professionals. Our employees speak 28 different languages, and at least 40 staff are trained medical interpreters. Lowell Community Health Center is committed to delivering exceptional care that improves your health and well-being through prevention, treatment, and education

Please visit: https://www.lchealth.org/

About Oatmeal Health:

Oatmeal Health is a virtual nodule clinic focused on providing AI-enabled early-detection cancer screenings and case management for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Health Plans. We are committed to reducing disparities associated with different cancer screenings and diagnoses. We are focused on creating solutions to improve health services and outcomes for communities whose members are disproportionately affected by cancer. Our solution utilizes cutting-edge AI technology to analyze patient data and identify early warning signs of cancer. By using machine learning algorithms, we can provide highly accurate risk assessments for patients, enabling our care team to intervene early and prevent the development of cancer.

Oatmeal Health is veteran-owned and clinician-led, please visit www.oatmealhealth.com.

Contact:

Jonathan Govette
Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health
415-404-1919
Jonathan@oatmealhealth.com