The burden of untreated dental health problems for children is considerable, and recent reports from the U.S. Surgeon General have only substantiated this notion: An estimated 5 percent of children under 18 have untreated dental problems, with that percentage rising to 39 percent for African American children and 60 percent for Mexican-American children. An estimated 51 million hours of school are lost because of dental problems.
To help rectify this situation locally, SDOS’s Community DentCare Network will work closely with the Community Health and Education Program of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Network to implement the program, establishing a permanent two-chair dental suite, staffed by professional dentists and dental hygienists, within the academy’s health care center. The program’s directors will focus on expanding services using both established models and new approaches and will forge partnerships with community-based providers, area parents, and local school administrators to maximize the program’s potential for success. SDOS projects that the Family Academy’s school-based clinic will be fully self-sustaining and supporting following the program’s pilot phase.
“We are extremely pleased to have been selected to participate in the Caring for Kids program,” said Dr. Stephen E. Marshall, associate dean for extramural affairs at SDOS and one of the directors of the new Family Academy program. “This support will enable us to work even more cooperatively and effectively with our colleagues at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to achieve one of our longstanding mutual goals: increasing the access of underserved populations to health care, right here in our own backyard.”
“The RWJF grant will allow us to provide truly comprehensive medical care,” said Dr. Walid Michelen, chief medical officer and senior vice president for community health, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. “We’ll be able to incorporate oral health, mental health, and primary care services at this location—giving the children of Family Academy and their siblings first-rate, expertly coordinated, and fully integrated medical care.”
“School-based health centers have been critical providers of medical and dental care for young people, particularly those who are uninsured,” said Julia Graham Lear, Ph.D., program director of Caring for Kids. “Columbia University has been a leader in the development of school-based health centers and dental services. This program will expand the capacity of Columbia University and other funded centers to address these critical problems and help others learn more about organizing and financing…dental health services in schools.”