Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Avon Foundation to upgrade its mammography system and add a breast health patient navigator to work with underserved women.

The grant, one of six awarded last month at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Chicago, will help improve SIH's mammography system to include digital technology.

The upgrade will reduce the time needed to process screenings and will offer doctors high-resolution imagery, SIH spokesman Grant Walker said Wednesday.

A portion of the grant will also provide childcare and transportation services to women receiving screening and breast cancer treatment, Walker said.

Donna Crow, a registered nurse and breast cancer survivor, will serve as SIH's new breast health patient navigator. Crow will coordinate community education classes about breast health, breast self-exams and the importance of screenings.

"The Avon grant is a tremendous boost for Southern Illinois," Crow said. "It will open avenues through improved technology with digital mammography and by providing breast health education to the community and support to women who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families."

Jennifer Badiu, administrative director of Cancer Care Services and The Breast Center, accepted the grant in Chicago.

"This grant is due to the efforts of those who participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Chicago," said Badiu, adding that 3,600 people participated in the walk and raised a record $8.2 million.

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, launched in 1992, has supported breast cancer programs in nearly 50 countries and has raised more than $400 million to advance breast cancer care worldwide.

For more information about SIH, visit www.sih.net or call (866) 744-2468. For more information about the Avon Foundation, visit www.avonfoundation.org.