May is National Women’s Health Month, a time to reflect not only on the progress we’ve made in improving women’s health, but also on the work that remains. Here in Florida, that work is urgent.
Across our state, too many women, particularly women of color, uninsured women, and those living in underserved communities, still face significant barriers to lifesaving screenings and cancer care. These disparities are not inevitable; they are rooted in access. And if we are serious about closing persistent racial gaps in health outcomes, we must invest in solutions that meet women where they are.
One of the most powerful tools we have is patient navigation.
By speaking openly with their healthcare providers about contraception, hormones and reproductive health, women have a partner to support their well-being through every age and stage of life.
Health care today is complex and overwhelming. Even for those with insurance, scheduling appointments, arranging transportation, understanding medical instructions and following up on abnormal results can feel like navigating a maze. For women juggling jobs, caregiving responsibilities and tight budgets, those obstacles can mean delayed diagnoses and worse outcomes.
Patient navigation changes that trajectory and help individuals overcome practical and cultural barriers to care. Not only do community navigators assist with logistics and help guide patients from screening through diagnosis and treatment; they build trust, serving as culturally competent advocates embedded in the communities they serve.
Here in Florida, we are seeing firsthand how transformative this approach can be through the work of Promise Fund. Since its founding in 2018, Promise Fund has focused on reducing disparities in breast and cervical cancer outcomes across South Florida. To date, we have reached more than 125,000 individuals through community education and outreach and have helped tens of thousands of women access mammograms, Pap tests, diagnostic follow-up and cancer treatment. Hundreds of women diagnosed with cancer have navigated treatment with direct support from Promise Fund navigator – women who speak their language, understand the challenges they face, and walk beside them at every step.
We also see Promise Fund’s navigation model advancing equity where it matters most: in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) embedded in underserved communities. Before Promise Fund’s co-located Women’s Health Program opened in Palm Beach County, only about 10 percent of patients with a mammogram order actually completed it. Since then, that figure has increased to 90 percent, illustrating the power of proactive, community-centered support.
Early detection saves lives. But early detection only works if people can access care.
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Navigation not only improves screening rates; it also reduces delays between abnormal results and follow-up care, delays that disproportionately affect Black/Brown and Hispanic women. By ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment, navigation helps close racial gaps in outcomes that have persisted for far too long.
And this isn’t just a moral imperative, it’s smart policy.
When cancers are detected early, treatment is less invasive and far less costly. That reduces strain on families, private insurers and taxpayer-funded programs alike. Investing in community navigation helps prevent late-stage disease, medical debt and avoidable suffering. It strengthens the entire health system.
National Women’s Health Month reminds us that women’s health is family health. When a mother, daughter, sister or grandmother receives timely care, entire households and communities benefit. Florida has the opportunity to lead the nation by scaling community health navigation models that work – models built on partnership, trust and measurable results.
Health care should not depend on your zip code, your income or the language you speak at home. It should not require insider knowledge to access lifesaving screenings.
Nancy Brinker
The future of community health lies in partnership between providers, nonprofits, policymakers and the communities we serve. By investing in culturally competent navigation and expanding access to preventive care, we can ensure that every woman in Florida has a fair chance at early detection, effective treatment and a healthy future.
Nancy G. Brinker is the founder of Promise Fund and Susan G. Komen and served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and Chief of Protocol of the United States.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: America’s health care needs better patient navigation | Opinion
