On March 17, Providence Community Health Center hosted a press conference announcing $7.9 million in grants to provide dental care for Providence children. The grants were awarded through the Foundation’s Rhode Island Attorney General’s 6/10 Children’s Fund, which was established with $10 million from a civil settlement last year between Barletta Heavy Division and the Office of the Attorney General to resolve charges related to the company’s work at the Route 6/10 connector construction project in Providence.
The press conference was led by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and David Cicilline, President & CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. “Dental care is healthcare, especially for young children. Yet nearly 40 percent of Rhode Island children can’t access quality dental care because of low Medicaid reimbursement rates,” said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. “Today, pairing words with action, we take a major step. No child should suffer tooth or gum pain, or lose their teeth entirely, because of government inaction or indolence. My Office’s work, and these funds, delivered directly to where the money needs to go, will ensure that Rhode Island children are never failed in this way by their government again.”
Providence Community Health Center (PCHC) was the recipient of the largest grant — $2.7 million over three years — which will help enhance pediatric dental care through a partnership with the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and Children’s Friend.
CCRI dental hygiene faculty and students will deliver mobile, school and community-based screenings, sealants, fluoride varnish, and education while creating a referral pathway for patients to the pediatric dental program at PHCH. Children’s Friend will connect families having difficulty accessing pediatric oral health care with PCHC for dental services. PCHC’s pediatric dental clinic, located on Prairie Avenue in Providence, is home to approximately 18,000 annual patient visits.
“Supporting healthy and strong communities is at the heart of our work. Focusing the services on neighborhoods where health disparities are high will close gaps in access to care, deliver lifelong benefits to the children and their families, and create pathways to a brighter future,” said David N. Cicilline, the Foundation’s president and CEO.
Details of the other grant awards:
• The Tri-County Community Action Agency will receive $2.5 million over three years to identify children with unmet dental needs and to care for them at its Pediatric Dental Center.
• The Samuels Sinclair Dental Center at Rhode Island Hospital will receive $2 million over three years to expand patient capacity through the addition of a dentist and dental assistants.
• The Comprehensive Community Action Program will receive $725,000 over three years to build on its existing care model, school-based programs, and mobile dental services.
“We are excited to partner with the Attorney General’s office and the Rhode Island Foundation to expand dental services to improve the oral health of young people in Providence,” said Merrill Thomas, PCHC’s president and CEO. “This grant funding will enable PCHC and our project partners at the Community College of Rhode Island and Children’s Friend to deliver hard-to-access oral health services to an additional 3,000 children annually.”