ICHS Population Health team receives 2024 American Cancer Society Hope Award
Proudly displaying the award, Crissa Lee, holds the 2024 Legacy & Leadership Hope Award for a group photo at the end of the award ceremony. From left to right: Cindee DeWitt, American Cancer Society Associate Director of Cancer Center Partnerships, Lindsay Montgomery, American Cancer Society Associate Director, Community Partnerships, Crissa Lee, ICHS Population Health Coordinator, Brendan Lo, ICHS Population Health Manager.
On March 13, 2025, International Community Health Services’ (ICHS) Population Health team received the 2024 Legacy & Leadership Hope Award by the American Cancer Society.
The Hope Award celebrates individuals, groups, or organizations who “open doors to life-saving cancer care and education.”
ICHS shared the 2024 Hope Award with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health for their collaborative efforts in improving breast cancer screening access.
Using evidence-based methods, they tracked patients’ journey through primary care visits and identified specific improvements to establish access to mammograms for patient populations whose first language may not be English.
"The ICHS Population Health team is a small but mighty team led by ICHS Population Health Manager Brendan Lo,” said Beth Weitensteiner, ICHS Holly Park Medical Clinic Medical Director. “Their mission has been to maximize ICHS’ cancer screening efforts through direct outreach, registry tracking, and in-language patient education. If an abnormal screen results, this same team tracks the patient to ensure that additional imaging or future appointments are scheduled and that the patient is aware of them. They are an integral part of the ICHS Medical team and mission. We are so proud of this team and this well deserved honor."
Unlike traditional health services which focus on individual patients, population health workers improve the health outcomes of the communities they serve.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, “but there is hope. When caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%.”
ICHS’ Population Health team encourages on-time cancer screenings to support patients. They work to support ICHS patients to get access to screenings, overcoming barriers such as insurance status, distance to health providers, navigating new health systems, and language barriers.
In 2024, the ICHS population health team achieved a 75% breast cancer screening rate among eligible patients seen during the year. In addition, 83% of referrals to initial screening mammograms were completed as a result of strategic “care coordination”, appointment reminders, and other strategic efforts to reduce no-show rates to screenings.