Westside Family Healthcare receives award for dental infrastructure
October 8, 2019
Westside Family Healthcare receives award for dental infrastructure
Wilmington, DE (October 8, 2019) – Westside Family Healthcare was awarded nearly $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration to expand its oral health service capacity through new infrastructure enhancements. These funds will allow Westside to purchase new equipment and enhance dental and medical integration across all health centers.
“Access to high-quality, integrated oral health care is essential to the early detection of oral diseases, which are critical to preventing future, often costly, health issues,” said Acting HRSA Administrator Tom Engels. “These awards, which are the first of their kind, will help health centers tackle limitations in infrastructure, such as outdated equipment and insufficient space, and improve access to integrated, oral health services in primary care settings in communities across the country.”
Westside has received one-time funding to enhance operational efficiency. Funding will enable safety and equipment upgrades for the 8 dental operatories at the Wilmington health center. This funding will support staff training for an Electronic Dental Record upgrade and leverage technical assistance resources to better integrate medical and dental services. The expected result is greater access to care for dental patients and improving oral health outcomes for the general underserved community. Westside provides comprehensive oral health care services through four dental offices that are co-located at the Wilmington, Northeast Wilmington, Newark and Dover sites.
“Integrated oral health services reduce the typical shortfalls associated with having separate medical and dental systems,” said Tom Stephens, MD, CMO of Westside Family Healthcare. “Our dental sites are co-located in our health centers, and we have integrated oral health into our routine primary care including providing fluoride varnish and oral health education. Integrated patient care allow us to better care for the whole patient. “
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About Westside Family Healthcare
Westside Family Healthcare is a Joint Commission Accredited non-profit community health system with locations currently in Wilmington, Northeast Wilmington, Newark, Bear/New Castle, and Dover providing care to 28,316 patients through 99,012 visits in 2018. Westside is the largest community health system in the state, providing family medical, dental, prenatal, and behavioral health services, regardless of ability to pay. Thirty three percent of Westside Family Healthcare’s budget in 2018 comprised of Federal funds. Care is provided for all individuals, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Learn more about Westside at www.westsidehealth.org.
For immediate release
Media Contact:
Maggie Norris-Bent
Director of External Affairs
(302) 656-8292/ 302-584-0654 (cell)
maggie.norris-bent@westsidehealth.org
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