Marti Verfurth, Director of the Memorial Regional Cancer Center, was instrumental in providing the foundation of information which later lead to the development of a Minority Health Task Force and the Women In Touch program. Her concern about these alarming statistics motivated her to collect local data to support the facts. She attended conferences to learn more, and initiated dialogues with various African-American technicians, physicians, administrative staff and others throughout Memorial Hospital to develop a case for action.

In the fall of 1992, Ms. Verfurth began to brainstorm with African-American hospital personnel about this situation. They decided to form a Minority Health Task Force to develop an approach for breast cancer screening and education to reach the under-served African-American population.

After several meetings of the Minority Health Task Force they concluded that in order for a program to be effective and reach the African-American population they would need to directly involve the target group in planning, developing and implementing the program. This was indeed a critical decision. It was the impetus for creating a culturally sensitive program designed by and for African-American women.

In February 1993, the Minority Health Task Force invited approximately 60 key female African-American community leaders to a dinner forum to discuss health issues and form an African-American Women's Advisory Panel. The attendees represented a wide range of African-American individuals; they included health care educators and other business professionals, ministers and church elders, housewives, cancer survivors and their loved ones. The Task Force purposely developed a loose format in order to create an open forum for discussion. Memorial Hospital leadership spoke about the disturbing African-American breast cancer incidence and mortality rates in the community. Philip Newbold, the hospital's CEO gave a verbal commitment to do whatever it took to create a program to address this issue. The Women In Touch program was born from this and subsequent meetings and has since taken on a life of its own.