Bardstown, Ky. (October 21, 2009) – Flaget Memorial Hospital has been awarded a grant of $84,000 by its parent organization, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), to expand free dental care services at the Nelson County Community Clinic (NCCC), which offers free medical care, dental care and medications to area residents unable to pay for care.
“The funding will be used to purchase much-needed dental equipment, dental instruments, supplies and anesthesia needed to care for our patients,” said NCCC Director Bobbi Harned. “The need in the Nelson County community for dental care is overwhelming. The dental clinic has a fully-booked scheduled for the next six months, and a waiting list of 80 patients.”
Many NCCC patients have never seen a dentist in their lives, Harned said.
“The patients we see are in desperate need of dental care,” she said. “The volunteering dentists have saved many teeth that would have needed to be extracted if treatment had been delayed any longer. The funding provided by CHI has also given the clinic the ability to provide education and preventive oral care that is essential to preserving patients’ teeth.”
Dr. Steve Auslander, volunteer dental director for the clinic, said the grant, which will be awarded over a three-year-period, “will allow us to purchase specialty equipment, be more efficient, see more patients, and give better quality care. We’re very grateful for all the support we’ve gotten from our volunteers, from Flaget Hospital, and from private donations and fund-raisers.”
All dentists, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and office staff members are volunteers, Auslander said.
“We have literally dozens of volunteers who work all the time, for no recognition,” he said. “And they do it with a smile.”
The NCCC has provided free medical care and medicines to uninsured workers since 2006, when it was opened with a $277,000 grant from CHI’s Mission and Ministry Fund, and with generous in-kind donations from the community. The clinic is an outgrowth of the Nelson County Healthy Community Initiative, which began in 2003 with a planning grant from CHI.
The $84,000 grant will allow the clinic to expand its capacity for providing dental services, and to offer more services, including cleanings, extractions, fillings, X-rays and tooth restoration, according to Flaget Vice President of Mission Integration Ben Wiederholt, who serves on the NCCC board.
“The clinic will now be able to increase the number of dental exam rooms, which will more than double the number of dental patients who can receive care,” Wiederholt said. “The clinic will also secure $250,000 worth of in-kind donations of equipment, volunteer hours and leased space during the next three years.”
The success of the NCCC is a reflection of the collaboration and generosity of the entire community, he said.
“Flaget Memorial Hospital is honored to be part of that effort,” Wiederholt said. “We hear a lot about the medically uninsured and underinsured, but we don’t realize that the lack of coverage for dental care is also at a near-crisis level. Evidence shows that the connection between oral health and overall medical health is becoming increasingly tighter. We are very pleased that these funds will make it possible to expand the clinic’s mission.”
Flaget Memorial Hospital is a member hospital of the Saint Joseph Health System, and of CHI.
