Our pursuit of equality in women’s health is fueled by our mission to enable healthier lives, everywhere, every day. Ensuring that life-saving screening, treatment and education are accessible to as many women as possible, regardless of their background, is critical to making our mission a reality.

As a global organization focused on improving women’s health and well-being through early detection and treatment, Hologic is uniquely positioned to make a transformative impact on the long-standing health disparities that plague women across the world.

From bridging gaps in access to preventive screenings to providing critical education, monetary donations and legislative support—efforts made by Hologic and its employees over a span of nearly 15 years have made a profound difference for women in countless communities. These efforts are central to Hologic’s mission and deeply rooted in the belief that underserved women deserve equal access to resources that will allow them to play an active role in their health and wellness, regardless of race, geography or socioeconomic standing.

For example, in 2020 Hologic launched Project Health Equality, a multi-year commitment to decreasing cancer screening disparities for Black women. The program is in partnership with the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), the first nonprofit organization created by Black women to help protect and advance the health and wellness of Black women and girls, and RAD-AID, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to screening and treatment in low resource regions.

Project Health Equality is designed to provide underserved women with access to superior breast and cervical cancer screening technology. The program prioritized breast screening awareness in October of 2020, encouraging all Black women to get their annual mammograms beginning at age 40. The multi-pronged campaign includes BWHI’s P.O.W.E.R. of Sure campaign, which addresses common barriers to screening and encourages Black women to schedule their annual mammograms. Additionally, in partnership with RAD-AID, Hologic is funding screening, diagnostic and treatment services at facilities across the United States through 2024 to increase access in underserved communities.

Over time, Hologic has led and supported a vast number of other initiatives in each of its major divisions. The strategy is simple—to be a catalyst for change through partnerships, involvement and policy.

Partnerships

Through collaboration with like-minded nonprofits and patient advocacy groups whose missions align with our own, Hologic has spurred meaningful advances in bringing underserved women closer to achieving health equality through grants, direct-to-consumer educational and awareness campaigns, and research projects.

Perhaps the most notable of these partnerships is with Breast Care for Washington (BCW), a nonprofit community-based breast imaging facility located in Southeast D.C. BCW is committed to reducing breast cancer mortality in a city that has seen the highest breast cancer incidence and mortality rates in the nation for over a decade. Dating back to 2007, Hologic has supported BCW through the donation of technology and programmatic funding for initiatives such as the Mobile Mammography unit that brings the Genius® 3D Mammography™ exam to thousands of women each year. (Featured top: Ribbon cutting ceremony at the Breast Care for Washington facility with Hologic’s mobile mammography unit equipped with the Genius. 3D Mammography. exam.)

Hologic is also a long-standing supporter of The CAP Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which connects pathologists directly to patients in need through its See, Test & Treat® program. Our support funded a program that provided underserved women at 12 sites with multiple preventive screenings, including a mammogram, Pap test, bone density scan, skin cancer screening and blood pressure check. The program also helped route women through the healthcare system if any abnormalities were discovered.

Beyond these programs, Hologic cultivates annual partnerships with a diverse range of patient advocacy groups. These include:

• The White Dress Project, an organization dedicated to raising funds for research and awareness of uterine fibroids.

• Cervivor, a nonprofit that brings cervical cancer survivors together and helps spread awareness, education and support.

• The National Black Nurses Association, whose mission is to provide a forum for Black nurses to advocate for and implement strategies to ensure access to the highest quality of healthcare for persons of color.

Policy

With a keen understanding that persistent gaps in women’s health equality are tied to federal and state legislation and policy, Hologic has played a proactive role in advocating for legislation, like the Protect Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act (H.R. 3339 and S. 1926), to ensure as many women as possible have a chance to receive and address diagnoses, and lead healthier lives as a result.

In 2015, the PALS Act placed a two-year moratorium on the implementation of any new breast cancer screening recommendations by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). These recommendations would have allowed insurance companies to charge women ages 40-49 a co-payment or other out-of-pocket costs for mammograms, potentially limiting access for up to 22 million women.

With regard to mammography coverage, efforts made by Hologic were instrumental in lobbying private payers and Medicaid to recognize the benefits of digital breast tomosynthesis. As a result, today 95 percent of women have access to this critical screening technology, which is clinically proven as superior to 2D mammography.

In addition, Hologic regularly donates to the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, a membership organization representing providers and administrators committed to helping people get the family planning education and care they need to make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. The association is the lead national advocacy organization for the Title X family planning program, which has served as the nation’s only dedicated source of federal funding for family planning. The Title X program supports high-quality, culturally sensitive family planning services and other preventive health care for low-income, under-insured and uninsured individuals.