Major grant aids dental care for children
Newport (May 9, 2006) – The Stillson Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, trustee, awarded HealthPoint Family Care a $250,000 matching grant toward a mobile dental office that will travel to Northern Kentucky schools to provide prevention and treatment services to children.
The matching grant from the Stillson Foundation represents half the cost to purchase and equip the dental coach. The matching grant means that the Stillson Foundation will match funds raised by HealthPoint, a nonprofit health care organization in Northern Kentucky, dollar-for-dollar, up to $250,000.
“There are many children in Northern Kentucky who are suffering pain and even tooth loss because they cannot get dental care, for a variety of reasons,” said HealthPoint CEO Chris Goddard. “This mobile dental office will take services directly to the children at their schools.”
“Hermine Stillson established her foundation to help area kids,” said Heidi B. Jark, vice president and manager of The Foundation Office at Fifth Third Bank. “We feel confident that the mobile dental van will make a significant and lasting impact on kids’ oral health in Northern Kentucky. The challenge grant should help convince other funders that this is a cause worth supporting.”
The dental van, to be operated by HealthPoint, is part of community-wide Children’s Oral Health Initiative. Partners in the project are:
- Children Inc., which operates early education and care programs in Northern Kentucky, has created materials to educate parents on caring for the teeth of young children.
- Northern Kentucky Independent Health Department District has developed oral health education materials to be used in the schools. The health department also operates a school program to apply dental sealants to the teeth of second-grade students to prevent decay.
- HealthPoint is a private, non-profit primary care medical and dental practice with seven offices in Northern Kentucky.
“This multi-faceted approach to oral health will encompass education for children of all ages, prevention of tooth decay, and treatment for children who have already developed dental problems,” Goddard said.
Tooth decay is the most common infectious disease among children. Lower-income children suffer the most, Goddard said, because their families are less likely to have dental insurance or the money to pay for dental care.
The 40-foot dental coach will have three treatment areas and will be staffed by a dentist and two assistants. The dental van, with the capacity to treat more than 5,000 children a year, will travel to schools with high enrollment of low-income children.
HealthPoint has launched a fundraising campaign to generate $500,000 to buy and equip the mobile dental office and $130,000 to help cover treatment costs for children with no insurance or ability to pay for services.
To date, HealthPoint has received eight gifts totaling $125,000 for the dental van.
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