Foundation supplements dental program

by Morgan Dixon
Staff Writer

Dental health services in Athens and Meigs counties will receive more than a half million dollars this month, making dental care more accessible to lower income families.    

The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation of Nelsonville will present $578,000 to support the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services dental program, the Appalachian Dental Clinic in Meigs County and the Athens County Health Department will receive a share to improve its health tracking system.

The Athens County DOJFS dental program will receive $150,000 during the next three years to help make dental care more accessible to lower income residents in the county, said Tracy Galway, a department spokeswoman.

The DOJFS program, which started in 2000, helps people without insurance set up a plan with Medicaid, Galway said. Also, it provides patients with a dental care referral system, a transportation system and helps schedule appointments, Galway said.

The program lost a lot of state funding in July because of budget cuts and the Heritage Foundation will help replace the lost funding, she said.

Galway said it is difficult for people with Medicaid coverage to find dental care in Athens County. Before the program started only two out of the 18 dental offices in the county accepted Medicaid patients - now six do.

Under Medicaid, patients are eligible for gas vouchers and a free ride to their appointment if needed, Galway said.

Since Jan.1 the program has served 78 patients and added 55 referrals, said Laurie Gribble, the program's coordinator.

The Heritage Foundation also is awarding $208,000 for the next three years to the Meigs County Health Department's Appalachian Dental Clinic.

The funds will be used to purchase dental equipment and hire a full-time dental hygienist adding to the staff of four, said Margie Skidmore, of the health department. More equipment and a full-time hygienist will help the clinic serve more patients, she said.

"We've been fortunate to get this grant," Skidmore said.

With the help of new laboratory equipment, the dentist, Dr. Herbert Roland, can prepare his own lab work, which saves the costs of sending it out, Skidmore said.

The funds will also help the clinic expand its patient list to residents in Vinton and Athens counties, Skidmore said.

Applications for the full-time hygienist position were made available on Jan. 27, but no one has expressed interest yet, Skidmore said. The salary is $46,000 including benefits.

The third local program to receive part of the Heritage Foundation funds is the Athens County Health Department. The $220,000 award will be used to enhance a computerized geographic information system, which uses digitized public health data and links it to a computerized map, said Charles Hammer, of the health department.

The health department wrote the grant in cooperation with OU's Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development, Hammer said.

ILGARD will receive the funds and will work with the county to improve the information system, Hammer said.

The system is used to locate and identify disease outbreaks in the area. The health department can then treat the affected area and prevent its expansion, he said.

"We will continue to do core public health functions, but with this technology we can do it more efficiently and effectively," Hammer said.

Very few health departments in the state use this system, he said. But the Athens Health Department has been using the system since 1997. The department plans to expand the system to health departments in nine surrounding counties so eventually, all of the departments can share the data.

The funds will be used to expand the program by providing new software and training, Hammer said.

"We expect very great results," he said.

The three awards will be officially announced on Feb. 27 at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, Skidmore said.