2003 Grants

Boston Public Health Commission's Oral Health Equity Project in Boston is run in collaboration with the Boston University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Forsyth Dental Hygiene Program, and the Tufts School of Dental Medicine, with case management assistance from the Boston University School of Social Work. The $113,500 grant will be used to bring students and faculty on site to conduct free dental screening examinations and appropriate preventive care at Boston Housing Authority elderly public housing sites.

Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville will use its $42,000 grant to expand its school-based dental services for at-risk children and youth in Somerville. The Alliance will be able to increase the number of students receiving dental and preventive care and increase the outreach to parents. Services include: screening, referral, education, and sealants for children in the elementary schools and in the Head Start Program.

Cape Cod Development Program in Cape Cod will use its $5,000 grant to support accessible oral health care for children in the mid and upper Cape Cod communities. This grant will be used to increase dental and preventive services such as dental screenings, dental cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, and oral health education in school, center, and clinic-based settings for children in childcare or in one of the school systems.

Cape Cod Dentists Care in Orleans will use its $70,000 grant to develop and implement a volunteer dentist program which will provide treatment to the low-income, uninsured, or MassHealth population living on Cape Cod. Private practice dentists will volunteer to provide no or low-cost services, expand capacity to treat special populations, and track and evaluate the program's progress and outcomes so that its successes can be replicated by other communities. Other initiatives to be developed through this grant are providing dental services through a local health center, screening children and adults in school and community settings, directing patients with unmet dental needs to appropriate providers and offering preventive education programs. This program will be implemented in collaboration with Lower/Outer Cape Community Coalition.

Central Massachusetts Oral Health Initiative in Worcester is a community-wide initiative to provide dental treatment and education for individuals who cannot afford dental services. This program received $57,000 in 2003 to continue funding the comprehensive dental preventive and service outreach program for uninsured and MassHealth individuals.

City of Lowell Health Department One Smile at a Time II in Lowell will use its $87,000 grant to provide preventive dental care to over 6,000 students in grades Pre-K through grade 5 in the Lowell public school system. Students from Middlesex Community College's Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs will provide much of the preventive dental care and oral health education.

Community Health Connections Family Health Center in Fitchburg will use its $206,000 grant to provide dental services to 40,000 low-income residents in North Central Massachusetts (Leominster and Fitchburg). The funds will be used to expand dental services by 50% at the health center. There will be an increase in staff to provide dental education in schools and to physicians throughout the community.

Family Van Saving Smiles at Harvard Medical School in Boston will use its $90,500 grant will be used to equip and staff a mobile van to provide free culturally and linguistically appropriate oral health education, preventive dental care, and enhanced access to dental services to uninsured and underinsured populations in Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester.

Holyoke Health Center/Tufts Dental School in Holyoke integrates the Health Center with Tufts School of Dental Medicine Residency program to improve and optimize comprehensive oral health care for vulnerable populations. The $75,000 grant will assist dental students in providing care for a diverse patient population of children, people living with HIV/AIDS, the elderly, and patients with special needs or chronic medial conditions.

Operation Healthy Smile in Marlborough will use its $77,500 grant to establish and staff a preventive dental clinic at the Marlborough Boys and Girls Club of Metro West. The new clinic will provide fluoride treatments, sealants, and nutritional education to children who cannot afford these services. The clinic will serve 23% of school children in town who are eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program and 22% of students for whom English is a second language. The clinic will also offer preventive programs and education.

Planning Grant Summaries
REACH Community Health Foundation in North Adams will use its one year planning grant to help develop a plan to implement a federally qualified community health center to include a dental clinic as part of its comprehensive services. It also supports the addition of school-based preventive treatment services and referral network capability to existing preventive education and outreach programs serving eleven surrounding towns.

Springfield Department of Health & Human Services in Springfield will use its one year planning grant to help develop an oral health plan to leverage federal infrastructure funding targeting health services across the city. It will also attempt to determine funding needs and other resources to ensure sustainability and a positive impact.

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