ATLANTA--St. Joseph’s Mercy Mobile Health Care received a $75,000 grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation for addressing the health needs of low-income and minority women in their community.

St. Joseph’s Mercy Mobile Health Care was one of 10 organizations selected to receive the award by a national-level independent advisory committee. The winners were chosen from over 1,000 applications received from 42 states and the District of Columbia. St. Joseph’s was notified of the committee’s decision Feb. 1.

St. Joseph’s won the award for a program which will educate 1,000 women and screen 350 women annually for cervical cancer. The project will assist women in Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties where there has been a dramatic influx of Hispanic and Asian immigrants and refugee populations.

“These awards recognize those nonprofit sponsors who have used innovative methods to develop health care solutions to meet the special needs of their communities,” said James A. Johnson, chairman and chief executive office of Fannie Mae.

“Mercy Mobile is honored to receive this grant and the national recognition from the Fannie Mae Foundation,” said Nancy Paris, president, St. Joseph’s Mercy Care Services. “It will allow us to increase medical services, expand health education efforts and identify early stages of treatable cervical cancer.”

The grant program was established by the Fannie Mae Foundation to encourage and recognize community-based, nonprofit groups that work to develop programs to meet the specific needs of low-income families and minority women. The funding enables the organizations to expand or create innovative programs that eliminate barriers to health care access.

The primary goal of the Fannie Mae Foundation is to support national and local nonprofit organizations working to provide affordable housing in communities throughout the U.S.