(Baton Rouge, La.) – Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center today announced that Myra Gatling-Akers has been named regional manager of early detection and education, implementing the Prevention on the Go program for the Delta Region.
Gatling-Akers was previously employed by the City of Monroe as the RiverMarket Director and Downtown Economic Development District Director. As the regional manager for Prevention on the Go, she will develop, coordinate and implement education and early detection services for a 12-parish area in coordination with Mary Bird Perkins’ home location in Baton Rouge, LA.
“We are so pleased to have Myra join the Mary Bird Perkins team and expand the organization’s mission to improve survivorship and lessen the burden of cancer in the Delta Region,” said Johnnay Benjamin, director of early detection and education, Mary Bird Perkins. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for the community that will be key in our efforts to prevent cancer and catch the disease in its earliest stages when it is most treatable,” said Benjamin.
She attended the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas Community Development Institute.
Prevention on the Go cancer education, prevention and screening services in the Delta Region is funded by a $600,000 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation (Blue Cross Foundation) grant.
About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for almost 50 years. The cancer care organization provides care at nine centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma, Gonzales, Zachary and Natchez, Mississippi, and its service area encompasses southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi regions. For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.