News
Clinic reaches underserved neighborhoods
Cutting the ribbon to officially open the clinic are, from left, Jennifer L. Parker, Black Capital Network; UB dental dean Richard Buchanan; Buffalo Mayor Bryon Brown; Larry Cook, John R. Oishei Foundation; James R. Kaskie, chief executive officer, Kaleida Health; New York State assemblywoman Crystal Peoples; and June W. Hoeflich, president and CEO, Sheehan Health Network. Photo: WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
-
Print -
Comments
-
“A scary thought is that only about 20 percent of children covered by Medicaid are being seen by dentists.”
The School of Dental Medicine is reaching patients in an underserved neighborhood of Buffalo, thanks to the newly opened Family Dental Clinic, an extension clinic of Sheehan Memorial Hospital at 425 Michigan Ave.
The clinic, a joint project of the dental school, Sheehan Health Network and Kaleida Health System, obtained its license from the state health department in April and opened in September.
The dental school led the effort to have the City of Buffalo and the area surrounding the clinic designated as a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). The designation gives the clinic more credibility in obtaining federal and other grant money to help reach its target audience: the underserved, Medicaid-only patient population on Buffalo’s East Side, where there are few options for quality dental and oral care.
“A scary thought is that only about 20 percent of children covered by Medicaid are being seen by dentists,” says Paul Creighton, assistant dean for community affairs in the dental school. “This clinic is an amazing opportunity for Buffalo, and the public response has been very strong.”
“This is an example of creating access where there was none, or very little, and creating a unique community partnership between the school, Kaleida and a local hospital,” adds James Harris, assistant dean.
The facility’s clinical staff is made up entirely of UB faculty—many of whom are community dentists. The goal is to provide quality oral health care that complements a patient’s overall health care plan.
“From extractions to prosthetics, we provide cradle-to-grave services that take into account a patient’s systemic health,” Creighton says.
The state-of-the-art facility boasts a modern, paperless office and provides comprehensive dental services—complex corrections as well as preventive bi-yearly cleanings and checkups—tailored to children, adults, seniors and special-needs patients. The clinic’s location on the second floor of the hospital also makes it convenient for residents of Sheehan’s Schofield Adult Day Health Care Program housed on the third floor.
Sheehan obtained approximately $1 million, split between a HEAL-NY grant and a major grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation, to fund capital renovations of the facility and to purchase equipment.
The hospital leases the facility to Kaleida, which contracts services to UB pediatric dentists at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and other UB dentists providing adult care.
Reader Comments