Summit and Montana’s three other Centers for Independent Living are teaming up once again with the Montana Disability and Health Program at the Rural Institute on Disabilities this summer to conduct accessibility reviews at all community and rural health clinics throughout the state of Montana.

You may recall when the Center’s partnered with the MTDH Program last year to do accessibility studies of all of Montana’s mammography clinics. Those reviews resulted in the comprehensive Montana Mammography Directory. The 2009-2010 Montana Mammography Directory provides information on mammography service providers by city.  Each entry includes contact information, hours of operation, standard and additional services available, and disability access information.  You can download the directory at http://mtdh.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/mammography.htm.

The goal of this project, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is to increase awareness among health care professionals about the importance of routine health screenings for people with disabilities and improve access to those screenings for this often underserved population. We also plan to increase awareness in the disability community about Community Health Centers (CHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) as sites where quality health care can be sought.