Johnston Health puts $10,000 gift to good use

Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s Community Investment Program awarded $10,000 to the Johnston Health Foundation for the purchase of two 3D mammography machines.

Johnston Health has placed the machines at its hospitals in Smithfield and Clayton. The aim is to step up the county’s fight against breast cancer.

Compared to conventional mammography, the advanced screening provides clearer, more concise images, which lead to earlier, more accurate detection and fewer false positives. The technology is especially valuable to women who have dense breast tissue, according to a release from Dominion Energy, the lead partner and developer of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.

Johnston Health and its foundation accepted the check from Bruce McKay, Dominion’s senior director of energy policy,

“It’s inspiring to see such a major utility join other companies and organizations that support our mission,” said Sol Halliburton, director of the Johnston Health Foundation. “We have a shared interest in enhancing the communities where we live, work and play. We look forward to working together on future opportunities to meet the health-care needs of the people that we all serve.”

“The health and wellness of the communities where we operate are vitally important to our company and all the partner companies involved in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” McKay said. “We are honored to do our part to help Johnston Health wage the fight against breast cancer and increase the chances of survival for the courageous women who face this difficult challenge.”

The pipeline’s Community Investment Program provides awards grant for the well-being of communities along the nearly 600-mile proposed natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina. The pipeline will traverses Johnston County, and Dominion recently announced that it would build an office in Smithfield.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC is a company formed by four U.S. energy firms – Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources. The pipeline will be capable of delivering up to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to generate electricity, heat homes and run local businesses.

For more information about the pipeline, go to www.dom.com/acpipeline.

For more information on Johnston Health and the 3D mammography campaign, go to www.johnstonhealth.org/foundation.

This story was originally published August 15, 2016 at 7:18 AM with the headline "Johnston Health puts $10,000 gift to good use."