Guthrie Highlights Innovative Approaches to Expanding Rural Women's Healthcare at PA State Hearing
The Guthrie Clinic highlighted its efforts to improve access to women's healthcare across rural Pennsylvania Oct. 20 during a public hearing hosted by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, emphasizing the importance of bringing advanced medical technology, preventive services, and maternal health care closer to the communities that need them.
Click here to read her full testimony.
Dr. Geneva Ballard, a board-certified diagnostic radiologist and System Chair of Radiology at Guthrie, testified about the unique challenges facing women in rural communities and shared examples of how Guthrie is using innovative care models, technology, and community partnerships to overcome barriers to care.
"For rural women, geography does not operate in isolation; it compounds other barriers that influence health outcomes, including age, income, transportation, employment, caregiving responsibilities, and access to insurance," Ballard said. "We must do more to bring care closer to women, make services easier to access, and design solutions around the practical barriers that can stand between a woman and the care she needs."
During her testimony, Ballard highlighted several Guthrie initiatives designed to address these challenges.
Bringing Advanced Breast Cancer Detection to Rural Women
In 2025, Guthrie Troy Community Hospital became the first hospital in the Guthrie system and the only critical access hospital in Pennsylvania to offer contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM), an advanced imaging technology that can improve breast cancer detection. A community fundraising effort raised $100,000 to bring the technology to Troy.
Breaking Down Geographic Barriers to Women's Health Care
Guthrie operates two mobile mammography units that visited nearly 120 locations and performed more than 2,100 mammograms in fiscal year 2026. Guthrie also recently launched its Maternity Oasis Mobile unit, known as the "MOM van," to bring prenatal, postpartum, and gynecological services directly to underserved communities.
Using Technology to Protect Rural Mothers After Delivery
In November, Guthrie plans to launch a postpartum hypertension monitoring and care coordination program through the Guthrie Pulse Center. The initiative will provide high-risk postpartum patients with home blood pressure monitoring, education, and coordinated follow-up care to help identify potential complications before they become emergencies.
Partnerships to Expand Rural Women's Health
At the Wyoming County Healthcare Center in Tunkhannock, Guthrie provides primary care, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, walk-in care, and specialty services, including obstetrics and gynecology. The collaborative model brings multiple providers and services together in the former Tyler Memorial Hospital, helping preserve access to essential care close to home.
During the hearing, Ballard also encouraged Pennsylvania policymakers to consider establishing a dedicated funding stream for mobile maternal and women's health units and recognized the leadership of Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and other members of the General Assembly in expanding access to breast cancer screening and care
“For us, this is what rural healthcare innovation looks like. It does not always require building something entirely new,” Ballard said. “Sometimes innovation means taking an existing community asset, bringing healthcare providers and services together, and finding new ways to make care accessible to the people who live there.