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For Immediate Release
L.A. Care's $210,000 Grant to Help Open New Dental Clinic in Lawndale
Media Contact
Marissa Jimenez
213.694.1250, ext. 4389
mjimenez@lacare.org
Twitter: @lacarehealth
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Date:
September 09, 2010
For Immediate Release
No Child Will Be Denied Treatment
LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, announced today that the Board of Governors approved $210,000 in funding to support the South Bay Children’s Health Center’s (SBCHC) dental program in its new dental clinic in Lawndale. This start-up dental clinic will add four new dental operating rooms and provide 30 hours per week of pediatric dental services including cleanings, fluoride varnishing, fillings, and extractions for low-income and uninsured patients up to the age of 24. SBCHC’s new dental clinic will open its doors on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.
“L.A. Care is committed to supporting access to dental care for low-income and uninsured families,” says Dr. Elaine Batchlor, Chief Medical Officer at L.A. Care Health Plan. “There are three times as many Californians without dental insurance as there are medically uninsured. Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, affecting 60% of all children.”
With the two-year grant SBCHC has purchased Dentrix, an electronic dental health records system, designed to connect dental offices and transfer patient information more efficiently. SBHC has renovated the clinic’s new space, establish a professional volunteer program and expand its rotation program for hygiene and dental students with the partnership and support of the Western Los Angeles Dental Society and local area universities.
The new dental clinic is strategically located in the city of Lawndale, where 17% of the residents have an income below the poverty level compared to the rest of the state (14%). Through school dental screenings conducted last year, SBCHC found that 1,163 children needed immediate dental care, but the clinic was only able to treat approximately 65%.
According to a 2009 Children’s Dental Health Study conducted by the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California, 73% of Los Angeles County children under age five have untreated cavities, representing more than double the national average.
“SBCHC will serve patients ages 2 through 24 years old with dental needs, regardless of insurance, based on a sliding scale depending upon income. No child will be denied treatment,” says Christina Harris, SBCHC Executive Director. “The new dental clinic has long range plans to serve patients over the age of 24.”
Since 2003, L.A. Care has granted nearly $8 million to provide more than 300,000 oral health services including oral health education, prevention and treatment services for low-income communities.
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About L.A. Care
L.A. Care Health Plan (Local Initiative Health Authority of Los Angeles County) is a public entity and community-accountable health plan serving residents of Los Angeles County through a variety of programs including Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, L.A. Care’s Healthy Kids, and L.A. Care Health Plan Medicare Advantage HMO SNP. L.A. Care is a leader in developing new programs through innovative partnerships designed to provide health coverage to vulnerable populations and to support the safety net. With over 800,000 members, L.A. Care is the nation’s largest public health plan.
