New Accessible Tables Make Pap Smears, Cervical Exams Easier for Women with Physical Disabilities

Special examination tables that make it easier for women with physical disabilities to get potentially life-saving Pap smears and cervical exams are now available in four locations around the state, courtesy of Screening for Life, the breast and cervical cancer prevention program of the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH). The exam tables lower to 20 inches above the floor, making it easier for patients who use wheelchairs or walkers or face difficulties getting onto standard exam tables.

Four of the tables, which cost about $6,000 each, were installed late last fall at St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, Nanticoke Hospital Clinic in Georgetown, and two private doctors' offices in Dover. The locations were chosen based on the number of women with disabilities living in the vicinity. Screening for Life plans to order two more tables in the near future.

Delaware's Screening for Life program provides payment for eligible women to have breast and cervical cancer tests. For more information about the accessible tables or for help getting an appointment at one of the equipped healthcare facilities, call the Delaware HelpLine at 800-464-HELP and ask for Screening for Life.