Pardee Hospital Foundation is an organization with a mission to provide sustenance to a nonprofit hospital, with 100% of gifts offered directly to Pardee Hospital’s patients. Founded more than 25 years ago, Women Helping Women is the Foundation’s hallmark program.

Women Helping Women was created to offer supplementary support for women who require medical treatments that may otherwise be cost-prohibitive. Diagnostic procedures such as mammograms, MRIs, lab tests, ultrasounds, and more can catch early signs of significant health issues including cancer. Treatment in the early stages can be critical to successfully mitigating health issues, and Women Helping Women allows many to get their medical needs met.

Pardee Hospital Foundation’s Executive Director Amy Treece said the self-pay cost for a mammogram is currently about $516. Support from Women Helping Women helps more women obtain possibly life-saving mammograms, as well as helps women overcome other potential barriers to care including childcare, transportation, screenings, access to counseling, and more.

The program’s 26th annual fundraising luncheon was held on October 20, bringing together more than 400 community members and featured New York Times bestselling author and Duke University professor Kate Bowler, PhD, who is a cancer survivor. In addtion to the speaker, attendees enjoyed networking, lunch, and Retail Row — a collection of items available for sale by several local women in business.

The program concluded with an announcement of a new fundraising event — She Slays, a 5K and one-mile fun run scheduled for April 20, 2024.