A New Bonnie's Bus Is Coming: $1.3 Million Keeps Cancer Screenings Rolling Into Rural West Virginia

For a lot of folks in our hollers and small towns, the nearest mammogram can be an hour or more down a winding two-lane road. That's a long way to go for a test that can save your life, and it's exactly why Bonnie's Bus has been rolling across the Mountain State for years. Now, good news: a brand-new one is on the way.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Monday, Oct. 26, a $1,339,077 award to the WVU Cancer Institute to replace the aging original Bonnie's Bus, the Morgantown-based mobile mammography unit that has been in service since 2017 and is nearing the end of its working life. The money comes from West Virginia's Rural Health Transformation Program through its Connected Care Grid initiative.

Bringing Screenings Closer to Home

According to the governor's office, the project goes beyond a new set of wheels. Along with replacing the unit, it will expand mobile screening events in high-need communities, with plans for up to 168 screening events a year and the capacity to serve more than 5,300 patients annually. The program offers breast and lung cancer screenings.

The investment will also improve the electronic health record systems that flag patients who are due for screenings, strengthen connectivity on the road, including Starlink internet service on the new vehicle, and add help for residents working through screening, follow-up care and other health resources.

"Early detection remains one of the most effective ways to improve health outcomes and save lives," Gov. Morrisey said in the announcement. "As we recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this investment builds on that message by helping bring cancer screenings directly into communities, reducing barriers to care, and making it easier for West Virginians to access preventive services close to home."

Dr. Arvin Singh, Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health, said the award "supports much more than a replacement vehicle," calling it part of "a comprehensive statewide system that combines screening, outreach, patient navigation, and technology to help identify cancer earlier and connect patients with care sooner."

A Bus Built on One Family's Love

Bonnie's Bus carries a story every West Virginian can feel. According to the WVU Cancer Institute, the original unit was created to honor Bonnie Wells Wilson, who died of breast cancer in rural West Virginia because of limited access to screening mammography. Her daughter and son-in-law, Jo and Ben Statler, established the bus with a generous donation so other families wouldn't lose a loved one the same way.

Since 2009, the WVU Cancer Institute's mobile screening program has delivered more than 40,000 screenings and identified more than 300 cancers, according to the governor's office. Many of the women screened are underinsured or uninsured and qualify through the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program.

"For over 17 years, Bonnie's Bus has traveled our country roads to bring cancer care, prevention, and resources to our most rural communities," said Dr. Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, executive chair and director of the WVU Cancer Institute. "The new mammography unit will allow us to meet our patients where they are."

Two New Buses on Our Roads

This spring, WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals in Charleston launched a second Bonnie's Bus with the WVU Cancer Institute. With this award replacing the original, the WVU Cancer Institute says two state-of-the-art mobile screening units will be on the road for women across West Virginia.

So here's our ask, neighbor: if you've been putting off that screening, or you know a mom, sister, aunt or friend who has, keep an eye out for Bonnie's Bus coming to your corner of these hills. More information is available at WVUCancer.org/Bonnie.