Just because there is a pandemic doesn’t mean uninsured and underinsured women don’t need important breast health services, so the St. Joseph’s/Candler SmartWomen event will take place virtually this year at www.sjcsmartwomen.org.   

SmartWomen is an annual fundraiser for St. Joseph’s/Candler’s Mary Telfair Women’s Hospital, which includes the Mammography Fund at Telfair Pavilion that provides mammograms and other breast care services for those who cannot afford those life-saving services.

Usually, SmartWomen is a luncheon & expo with a nationally-known speaker who inspires and enlightens the 1400 people who attend. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the SmartWomen committee decided to showcase 18 inspiring local women through video.

Last year SmartWomen raised $183,743 for uninsured and underinsured women to get the mammograms and breast health services they need. 

In our region, approximately 25 percent of the population is uninsured or underinsured. The Telfair Mammography Fund ensures that all women have access to mammography and other services, even if they have no insurance or high deductibles or co-pays. It is actually the one fund that St. Joseph’s/Candler’s President & CEO Paul P. Hinchey likes to see depleted each year.

“Because that means that uninsured and underinsured women are getting their mammograms,” Hinchey says. “We do not want any woman in our region to miss getting their mammogram because they don’t have insurance. Each year this event helps fill that fund back up again.”

Past years’ luncheons have featured notable women such as Taya Kyle, Jane Seymour, Anne Burrell, Fran Drescher, Amy Grant, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Marilu Henner, Joan Lunden, Giuliana Rancic, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Olympia Dukakis, Ellen Burstyn, Peggy Fleming, Ivana Trump, Erin Brockovich, Suze Orman and author Mary Kay Andrews.