The Primary Care Coalition’s (PCC) commitment to early cancer detection continues to drive meaningful progress across our network, even amid significant administrative and operational underfunding. Despite these challenges, our cancer prevention and screening program remains a lifeline for uninsured and underserved community members. Its purpose remains clear: identify cancer early and intervene quickly.
 
The detection and treatment of cancer for patients without health insurance is extremely complex because it relies on a patchwork of programs for service delivery. “These gaps create inequity across the system by age, sex, and site,” says Dr. Veronica X. Vela, Senior Director for Healthcare Access. “Currently, there are no dedicated resources to oversee and improve the network of safety-net programs that constitute the continuum of care. Lack of dedicated oversight and facilitated coordination compromises the safety net's ability to diagnose and treat patients early, exacerbating healthcare costs.”

PCC’s cancer prevention and detection program leverages multiple funding sources and partnerships to provide screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal  cancer. Among them is the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP), which provides direct screening for breast and cervical cancers through a combination of state and federal funding. Funds for BCCP come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Award – 93.898 Cancer Prevention and Control for State, Territorial, and Tribal Organizations and MDH Center for Cancer Prevention and Control. Although it is currently the most resourced program within PCC, BCCP operates at only two partner health centers, with participation fluctuating due to its administrative requirements.
 
Across cancer screening types and funders, there are persistent challenges. Many of them are structural: patients need more navigation support across a fragmented service landscape and social access barriers, Montgomery Cares mammogram eligibility has not kept pace with US Preventive Services Task Force screening guidelines, and funding is insufficient for the administrative and operational responsibilities across screening programs.
 
Even in the face of these challenges, PCC continues to make meaningful strides. The program team established a partnership with Exact Sciences to provide free Cologuard colon cancer screening tests and supported rollout across five partner health centers . This reduced barriers for Montgomery Cares patients and brought more than $120,000 in donated testing capacity to uninsured residents in just the first half of this year. A state audit commended strong PCC program performance in breast and cervical cancer screening services.
 
Better early detection is crucial amid a rising overall cancer burden among Montgomery Cares patients. Since 2021, the number of cancer care patients has more than doubled, from 114 to 264, and the number of hematology and oncology appointments required to support these patients has more than tripled. In FY25, PCC coordinated 450 cancer care appointments, up from 139 in 2021. Where possible, PCC leverages grants from the Maryland Cancer Fund, a program of the MDH Center for Cancer Prevention and Control, to support treatment costs. An additional 31 colonoscopies were coordinated for patients who could not be served by the State-funded Cancer Crusade program, which was temporarily closed to new patients. While absolute numbers remain modest, the impact of access to cancer care for each patient is substantial.
 
“A dedicated navigator would ensure timely treatment for all patients and  support patients moving from diagnosis to treatment,” explains Vela. “Currently this work is absorbed by the Project Access Clinical Lead, which takes time away from reviewing specialty care referrals for the broader Montgomery Cares population, slowing down access to specialty care for other patients.” 
 
Given these obstacles, PCC has identified priorities to strengthen the continuum of cancer care for uninsured resident, including securing funding for program management, expanding breast cancer screening eligibility to women ages 40–44, and establishing patient navigation as a core program service.
 
PCC’s cancer prevention and screening program remains a vital resource for uninsured and underserved communities. “Despite funding gaps, fragmented services, and systemic barriers, PCC remains committed to early detection, equitable access, and continuous improvement,” says President and CEO Annice Cody, “ensuring every patient has the opportunity for timely, lifesaving cancer care.”

​The Pan Asian Volunteer Health Center at the Chinese Community and Culture Center (CCACC) provides a crucial healthcare access point for Chinese-speaking patients. But CCACC is committed to providing care for local patients with unmet needs, regardless of culture or origin. “Over the years, the clinic has provided free, high-quality care to thousands of patients — not only Chinese Americans, but also people from many other backgrounds,” says Kate Lu, the clinic director and mental health provider.
 
CCACC’s outreach efforts have focused not just on the Chinese American community but on the health center’s surrounding geography, with recent outreach at local senior centers and health fairs. Those efforts are showing, not just in patient numbers but in other demographics as well. The top two languages spoken and race/ethnicity categories remained the same from FY24 to FY25—Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish, Asian and Hispanic/Latino, respectively. But the proportion of Spanish speakers grew from 41% in FY24 to 52% in FY25, while the percentage of Hispanic/Latino patients grew from 43% in FY24 to 53% in FY25.
 
Meanwhile, CCACC has provided more visits overall: 1,786 total visits in quarter two of FY26 (July 2025-June 2026), up 20% from the 1,484 visits provided in Q2 of FY25. The Montgomery Cares (MCares) patient visits have increased as well, at 669 in Q2 of FY26 versus 524 in Q2 FY25, an increase of nearly 28%. To provide those visits, the health center relies on both staff and volunteer providers: the equivalent of two full-time staff members in Q2 and volunteer time representing about 67% of another full-time position.
 
The health center’s services are not limited to scheduled visits; they also provide programming for health promotion. The center’s annual health fair in October offered screenings for common health concerns like blood pressure and bone density, as well as medical consultations. Each month, the center offers a different area of focus for patient education and free health screenings, and online seminars in Chinese help build the tools for wellness. Recent Zoom seminars ranged from the process of obtaining health insurance to understanding common concerns like gut health and pain management.
 
With federal funding support, CCACC officially relocated to a new and improved health center location (9298 Gaither Road, near its previous site in Gaithersburg) in December 2025. The new site has space for planned expansion into dental and pharmacy services.  CCACC also secured cost sharing funding from Maryland and Montgomery County to equip the new space and expand the scope of whole-patient care.

PCC supports the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through its partnership with the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. The goal is to develop and offer a suite of capacity-building programs to advance health equity for AAPI communities in Montgomery County.

The AAPI population in Montgomery County includes long-time residents and newly arrived immigrants from diverse ethnic groups such as Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and Nepali communities. Yet these communities continue to face significant gaps in care. In 2021, only 25% of Asian adults with a mental health condition received treatment, compared with 52% of White adults. AAPI health issues have also been historically underfunded, representing just 0.2% of federal health-related grants between 1986 and 2000. These disparities highlight the need for culturally responsive investment. According to Rachel Lee, Director of Community Resilience, “We provide both strategic and hands-on support to help the organizations who support the AAPI communities grow.”

One way PCC advances this work is through its annual capacity-building workshops held from December through February. This three-part virtual series helps AAPI-serving nonprofits strengthen their grant-seeking skills by offering practical guidance on prospect research, tools like Grants.gov and eMMA, and today’s funding landscape.  It also featured sessions on writing compelling grant narratives, developing accurate budgets, and identifying local, state, and federal funding opportunities. Participants took part in hands-on exercises on FTE calculations, indirect costs, fringe benefits, and real-world grant databases. “Given the changes over the last 12 months, it’s more important than ever for organizations to be proactive in managing themselves, as well as their grant funding efforts,” says Rachel.  And why, she added, that they saw a record number of participants attend this workshop. For those who couldn’t attend, the workshop can be viewed at https://aahiinfo.org/aace/ and https://aahiinfo.org/aace-workshop-archive/ .
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The Capacity-Building Workshops are just one of the initiatives AAHI has planned for 2026. Rachel explains, “We’re organizing a two-day grant writing bootcamp to equip participants with the essential skills and tools to craft a competitive grant proposal. By the end of the program, attendees will have a complete and ready-to-submit grant application.” Additionally, they’ll be hosting a Health Equity Roundtable to delve into the impact of Social Determinants of Health on the well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. So, keep an eye out for these exciting events.