2009 Grant Recipients

Seventy-four  organizations submitted Letters of Intent (LOI) to the CDA Foundation Grant Program for consideration to submit full proposals for the 2009 cycle. The top 20 qualified and competitive projects were invited to submit a full proposal. The Grant Selection Committee and Board of Directors approved the below organizations as recipients of the 2009 CDA Foundation Grant Program, supported in part by Olympic Dental & Medical Devices and Medelita. We wish to congratulate:

St. Mary's Interfaith Community Services
The project provides homeless individuals and working poor families who are uninsured with dental services free of charge, by a dentist in the five operatory clinic. The clinic is staffed by an average of twenty volunteer dentists from the community. The grant funds will support the purchase of new DEXIS Digital X-ray System. The new equipment will allow the clinic dentists to diagnose a treatment plan more effectively with almost instantaneous images, significantly free-up staff time, increase productivity, decrease client wait time, and reduce exposure to radiation.

UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project
The project grant funds will support the salary of a part-time Program Assistant. This position is integral to the sustainability of this program and its continued ability to provide high-quality, no cost, comprehensive health care by: maintaining collaborative partnerships with 2 community-based organizations and 1 school district, improving efficacy of patient flow, referrals, and scheduling among 3 dental clinics, setup oral health education among area elementary schools, recruit and coordinate dental professionals to donate their time/services and pre-dental students to volunteer and learn in the clinics, and facilitate grant writing and access to other donated resources. To provide high-quality, timely, ongoing care to the underserved population, it is critical to have an  individual who has these responsibilities.

Ravenswood Family Health Center
In February 2010, RFHC is opening a 10-operatory dental clinic in the heart of East Palo Alto and the grant funds will cover part of the first year’s salary for the clinic’s FT dentist. The clinic will provide services, including preventive, educational, restorative, surgical, emergency, and periodontal oral health services for 1,800 children and adults through 4,500 dental encounters, with focus on pediatric patients--all of whom are public insurance eligible and are existing medical patients of record. The clinic will also see family members of patients who can afford up-front payments on a sliding fee scale, and offer one “Community Dental Day” per week that will be staffed by local volunteer dentists and student teams from the UOP School of Dentistry. The clinic will use Electronic Dental Records to track and implement evidence-based oral health practices for the community, making the Ravenswood Dental Clinic model one of the first of its kind in California, because of its emphasis on “up-stream” solutions to dental health problems.

Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People
The project grant funds will support expenses directly related to the Children's Dental Fund Project, specifically half of the funds would be applied toward salaries for their AA, coordinator, and director, and the other half toward direct services/dental fees. Through partnerships with local schools and community outreach, SYVPHP will identify 180 children who are in need of dental care through K-3rd grade screenings, and those who don’t have current and cannot be placed in another insurance program, are enrolled in the Children's Dental Fund. Once enrolled, they will be provided transportation, payment plan set-up and billing, treatment follow-up, Spanish translation if needed, screenings, exams, cleanings, fluoride, fillings, extractions, education, and necessary oral surgery. PHP partners with 7 local dentists volunteering services at 50% of the insured rate. PHP will pay for the dental services directly and bills the patient on a sliding scale based on income. The child will continue to receive annual exams, cleanings and any treatments necessary for as long as they are eligible.

Alameda County Dental Society Dental Health Foundation
The Alameda County Dental Society Dental Health Foundation is partnering with La Clinica de la Raza and Asian Health Services (local clinics), and the Alameda Co. Public Health Department to support the treatment of complex cases that require child sedation. The grant funds will pay for the Sedation Services for Under Served Children Project expenses for sedation services to underserved children with severe dental disease who have no other means for this service. This will allow these children to receive the needed dental treatment to reach full mouth rehabilitation. County case managers assess patient eligibility, coordinate treatment plans, and track patient demographics, services, and treatment completion forms. Timely treatment will reduce school absenteeism, help alleviate pain, and contribute to the children's overall health and well-being.