Costa Rica
Fundacion Anna Ross x HERHealthEQ
The inspiration for HERHealthEQ dates back to this first “unofficial” project in Costa Rica.
From 2009 to 2011, the number of mammograms performed at Hospital Tony Facio Castro in Limón, Costa Rica declined sharply, from 2,600 to just 685 annually. This decline in women screened for breast cancer was attributed to old machinery frequently going out of service.
In October of 2013, HERHealthEQ Founder, Marissa Fayer, teamed up with Hologic and Fundacion Anna Ross to donate a mammography machine to the hospital.
In the years that followed, the number of women who died from breast cancer decreased significantly, from 19 in 2013 to 12 in 2015.
This decline has occurred even as the number of women diagnosed with tumors has risen. This important outcome is testament to the need for high-functioning screening equipment and a commitment to regularly screening at-risk women.
To date, more than 14,000 women have been screened with the equipment donated by HERHealthEQ.
The latest metrics from this project show a 400% increase in mammograms performed in the Limón region of Costa Rica. That is over 3,000 screenings annually!
Latest news update: We are excited to announce a 2020/21 partnership with fundacion anna ross. This is the second project HERHealthEQ will be partnering on in Costa Rica. Fundacion Anna Ross secured three months of on-loan medical staff from national associations allowing services to begin while long-term staff are hired. The space will focus on the detection of cervical, breast, skin and lung cancer and HERHealthEQ will facilitate the donation of the necessary EQuipment.