Children's Dental Van to Be Launched at Roseland Hospital
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) July 18, 2014 -- On July 25th Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation (MCF) and Roseland Community Hospital (RCH) will host a ribbon cutting ceremony that will launch a full-service, state-of-the-art Children’s Dental Van, which will mark the beginning of a new chapter for both organizations. Special guests will include U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
“Children in our community are suffering from a lack of access to quality dental care,” RCH President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Egan said. “Being able to provide this service for kids in need is absolutely a dream come true.”
The Chicago Community Oral Health Forum states that “nearly 42% of people in the Chicago area suffer from inadequate dental care due to lack of insurance or affordable options.” So MCF and RCH have come together in an affiliation agreement to create the Roseland/MCF Dental Van.
For over 15 years, MCF has provided comprehensive medical care to low-income children with the chronic, incurable disease asthma. Over that time, less than 5% of the 10,000+ Asthma Van patients have had to utilize a hospital or ER after enrollment, even as asthma remained the number one cause of pediatric hospitalization in Chicago.
“Dental care is the next frontier,” says MCF Board Chair Jonathan Weatherly. “Four of five low-income children don’t receive necessary preventative oral health care, and there’s a lack of convenient dental homes for our patient population. Since we have this successful clinic model, it only makes sense for us to take on this next big challenge.”
For RCH, the Dental Van launch is the latest indicator of a complete reversal of fortune since Egan was announced CEO last year.
“Roseland Hospital is more than a building,” says RCH Board President Genivee Chapman. “It’s a vital community health resource. Sometimes the best way to prevent emergencies coming to us is to proactively bring services to people who need it. In Roseland, children need dental care.”
The Dental Van Program was made possible by a $350,000 Program Related Investment from the Washington Square Health Foundation and supporting grants from an anonymous donor and the Polk Bros. Foundation. The Jesse White Scholars and the Archdiocese of Chicago have signed on as partners for the Dental Van. Services will be provided through partnerships with local schools, and will be open to children 4-18 years of age. The Dental Van is expected to assist over 2,000 children in its first year.
For more information, please contact Thomas Hale at 773.995.3012 or thale(at)roselandhospital(dot)org.
Tim Egan, Roseland Community Hospital, +1 (773) 995-3012, [email protected]
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