Dr. Ryan and Miranda Polselli are on a mission to make mammography more patient-centric, ensuring it is comfortable, accessible, easy and efficient for women across Central Florida. As owners of Mammolink, the dynamic duo is helping to save lives by breaking down the barriers for women to receive possible life-saving screenings.
“This has been a dream of ours for nearly 15 years,” said Ryan. “We started this company because we wanted to do breast cancer screenings right. We are giving the power back to the patient to make their own healthcare decisions, and we have nothing in the way stopping that. No transportation, no worries, we’ll come to your neighborhood.”
Dr. Ryan and Miranda Polselli. Courtesy of Mammolink.
Their company Mammolink not only provides a professional team of mammography experts to support in-office mammography services, but in 2022, they also launched their first 3D Mobile Mammography bus to help reach women where they are.
However, launching that first bus had its share of obstacles. Between the long wait for insurance contracts and finding partners who believed in their mission, it would have been easy for the Polselli duo to scrap the idea, but instead, they persisted, knowing their dream could impact their community for the better.
By happenstance, Ryan and Miranda crossed paths with Hancock Whitney during a home closing. When they shared their idea for the mobile mammography bus, the banking team went to work. “Hancock Whitney was the only bank that felt our passion and jumped on board,” said Ryan. In addition to supporting the vision, Hancock Whitney bankers were immensely helpful in providing guidance to position Mammolink for future success. “We both have a medical background, not a business background, and our banker was always available to answer our questions as simple as they may be, or break down complex banking and financial lingo,” said Miranda. “They truly developed a relationship with us, going above and beyond to understand our projections since we didn’t have documented cash flow to ensure we could finance the initial bus as well as any future growth opportunities.”
With Hancock Whitney’s support, Ryan and Miranda launched their first bus in September 2022.
Focusing on a service area across the Tampa Bay region, the duo collaborated with medical groups, school districts, and large corporations to provide mammography services to their employees. Their success was unprecedented. “We grew a lot faster than we ever anticipated,” shared Miranda. “We thought we’d be ready for a second bus in year two or three, and now here we are with bus number four on the way in less than two years.”
3D Mobile Mammography Unit. Photo courtesy of Mammolink.
Mammolink’s 3D Mobile Mammography now serves the majority of Central Florida with sights set on expanding to North Florida this year. With a team of 40 employees, and hundreds of different partners from government groups to retailers, the company sees upwards of 1000 patients each month for screening. “So many partners see the benefit of this model” shared Ryan. “When we provide no-barrier access to screenings, we are able to detect disease early on, have a patient begin treatment and hopefully ensure they can be around for many more years. It’s a win for the patient, for the community, for the employer and for us.”
What’s the next endeavor for the duo? Beyond launching a fourth bus in 2024 and eyeing growth regionally, research is on the horizon. “I’d love to quantify the benefits of the program and also identify what makes people want to get a mammogram and what makes people not want to get a mammogram to try and develop and offer various incentive programs,” shared Ryan.
“Patient care is in our heart and soul,” shared Ryan. “We sincerely care about our patients and are doing what we can to improve their health and their life and it’s really paid off. And, in many ways, Hancock Whitney does the same thing we are trying to do. They are centered around the customer and that is the key ingredient for business success.”
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