“This project has had a huge impact on the lives of women who are never at the top of any priority list.”

– Erika Mohr, RN,
Volunteer

Grounds for Health works to create sustainable and effective cancer screening programs in coffee-producing regions. To achieve this goal, we collaborate with regional coffee unions, community members, and local healthcare professionals to increase awareness about cervical and breast cancer, and to improve existing cancer prevention systems.

We:

• Organize cervical and breast cancer screening campaigns staffed by local health care providers and American volunteers.
• Provide equipment, training and technical assistance to our Latin American partners.
• Work with local hospital personnel to develop efficient record keeping and referral systems.
• Strengthen local treatment capacity.
• Develop networks of trained community health promoters.
• Educate women in communities about cervical cancer and empower them to take control of their health and well-being.
• Build relationships between Latin American and American medical professionals, fostering a spirit of international exchange.

Staff, Board Members and Volunteers:

Staff:
August Burns, MPH, CM, PA, Executive Director
Martha Caswell, MPP, Program Manager

Janice Nadworny, Development Director

Board of Directors:

Dan Cox, Coffee Enterprises - Founder
Jon Wettstein, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters - President

Kathryn Guare, Global Health Council - Vice President

Frank Dennis, Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Co. - Treasurer

Dr. Jerome Belinson, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

Tina Berard, Atlantic Specialty Coffee, Inc.

Tracy Ging, Coffee Quality Institute

Dr. Nancy Joste, University of New Mexico Department of Pathology

Judith Sutphen, International Women's Coffee Alliance

Dr. Francis Fote - Founder (Emeritus)

Advisory Board:
Julia Alvarez

Salma Hayek

Amy E. Pollack, MD, MPH

Emma Ottolenghi, MD

José A. Pérez Valenzuela, MD

Harshad Sanghvi, MD

With the exception of our staff, the Grounds for Health team is made up exclusively of volunteers, all of whom are highly trained medical professionals.

Our roster of volunteers includes:

Dr. Matthew Zarka, Pathologist, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ
Dr. Francis Fote, OB/GYN, retired, formerly of OLV Hospital, Lackawanna, NY
Dr. Gregory Moes, Pathologist, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
Dr. Diane Tam, Pathologist, PathNet Laboratory, Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Nancy Joste, Pathologist, U. of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM
Dr. Jennifer Keith, Pediatrician, Pediatric Partners, Hemet, CA
Dr. Leon Mensch, Pathologist, Mid-Vermont Pathology, Rutland, VT
Dr. Barbara Centeno, Pathologist, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FLA
Dr. Ryan Cole, Pathologist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, NY
Dr. Catherine Pye, Pathologist, Providence Hospital, Anchorage, AK
Dr. Jessica Moreno, M.D., OBGYN, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Dr. Christina Veit, M.D., OBGYN, private practice, Dobb’s Ferry, NY
Dr. Sandy Ewaskow, Pathologist, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Dr Tony Muzack, Pathologist, Mid-Vermont Pathology, Springfield, VT.
Ana Henriques, N.P., University of Texas, Austin, TX
Erika Mohr, R.N., Pediatric Partners, Hemet, CA
Sally Cook, R.N., Vermont Department of Health, VT
Barbara Fuhrman, Buffalo, NY
Sheri Lippman, M.P.H., University of California Berkeley
Carol Colasacco, SCT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Lori Folts, SCT (ASCP), NorDx, Scarborough, ME
Joanna Kolodziejski, CT (ASCP), Tricore Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM
Robert Stumler, CT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Tim St. John, CT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Amy Verville, CT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Joe Walker, CT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Susan Warren, SCT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Heidi Sokolowski, (ASCP), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Purnima Patel, SCT (ASCP), Virginia Hospital Center, MD
Amy Wendel, SCT, MP, HT (ASCP) Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Pam Lathrop, CT (ASCP), Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT
Kari Binning, CT (ASCP), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Terry Whitman, CT (ASCP), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Janie Roberson, SCT (ASCP), U of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Suzanne Germain, N.P., Bristol, VT
Casey Blanchard, Shelburne, VT
Bonnie Carmichael, University of New Mexico, NM
Carolyn Shapiro, Montpelier, VT
Dr. Debra Lebo, OB/GYN, Murrieta, CA
Donna Shelk, CT (ASCP)
Susan Werneke, CT (ASCP)

Proven Success in Coffee Growing Communities:

Grounds for Health began work in 1996 in Pochutla, Oaxaca. It expanded services to the nearby town of Pluma Hidalgo in 1998 and set up a site in Huatusco, Veracruz in 2000. Before the arrival of the Grounds for Health team, there was very little cancer screening done in these areas, with no outreach to women in the more remote communities. Any screening done was hampered by questionable cytological accuracy and poor delivery of results.

Our results to date:

• More than 14,000 women have received care, an average of over 100 patients per day.

• Our screening results have documented a rate of abnormal Pap smears 2 to 4 times higher than that of the U.S., and a rate of invasive cervical cancer more than 30 times higher

• Women with breast lumps receive Fine Needle Aspiration biopsies and are referred for further treatment when needed.

• More than 150 doctors, nurses and community health educators have participated in GFH trainings. 

• Over $50,000 worth of diagnostic and treatment equipment has been donated.