AUGUSTA, Ga. — Several hundred walkers filled downtown Augusta on Saturday morning for the Miracle Mile, the Piedmont Augusta fundraiser that pays for breast cancer screenings for women across the CSRA during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Money raised by the walk goes toward mammograms and related care for women who might otherwise go without. Anne Catherine Murray, who leads philanthropy for the Piedmont Augusta Foundation, said the program aims to remove whatever stands between a woman and a screening, whether that is a lack of insurance coverage or no way to get to an appointment. In some cases the screening is brought to the woman instead.
The walk is tied to Piedmont Augusta Hospital, one of the largest employers in the city. The hospital was once known as University Health Care System and became part of Piedmont Healthcare in March 2022. Along with Augusta University Medical Center, Doctors Hospital and the Medical College of Georgia, it helps make Augusta a regional referral hub, so a screening program run here can reach patients well beyond Richmond County.
Health care is one of the main ways Augusta earns a living, and the Piedmont system and Augusta University Health rank among the sectors that employ the most people in the city. That footprint gives the foundation a wide base of staff, patients and neighbors to draw on when it asks the community to walk, give or volunteer each October.
People who missed Saturday morning can still give through the Miracle Mile Foundation, and organizers have already put next year on the calendar. The 2027 walk is set for Oct. 16, 2027.
Women in the Augusta area who are due for a mammogram and are worried about cost or transportation can ask the Piedmont Augusta Foundation about help paying for or reaching a screening.
Filed under: Augusta GA Health News
