In 2015, Harrington HealthCare System launched the Lung Cancer Screening Program, offering CT scans to high-risk patients who fit pre-established guidelines as having a significant smoking history.
In its pilot year, Harrington completed 369 scans.
The program, now in its fourth year, finished with a total report of 1,280 completed scans.
The screening is a 10-minute low-dose CT scan, offered at Harrington’s Southbridge or Webster campus.
Jean Comeau, RN, is an interventional radiology nurse and the nurse navigator for the lung cancer screening program, said, “We know from data that Southbridge [and Central Mass] has one of the highest percentages of smokers in the state. So it’s important that, as a healthcare system, as are looking at this problem as proactively as we can to improve the health of our community.”
A map by the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards indicates 25.1% of Southbridge’s total population uses tobacco products, significantly higher than most other towns in the Commonwealth.
Using data from MAHB, ThisWeekinWorcester.com was able to compile a list of the cities and towns in Worcester County that have a high percentage of adult smokers.
Here are the 17 Cities and Towns in Worcester County with a smoking rate of 18 percent or higher:
- East Brookfield – 18.2%
- Oxford – 18.7%
- Millbury – 18.7%
- Worcester – 18.8%
- Dudley – 19.3%
- North Brookfield – 19.7%
- Spencer – 19.9%
- Leominster – 20.0%
- Blackstone – 20.9%
- Millville – 20.8%
- Webster – 21.4%
- Warren – 22.9%
- Fitchburg – 23.4%
- Winchendon – 23.7%
- Gardner – 24.2%
- Athol – 24.4%
- Southbridge – 25.1%
To see how Worcester County compares to other areas of the state, scroll the map from MAHB below:
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