January 26, 2015: Affordable dental care will soon be easier to find in Rockwood and East Multnomah County. A $75,000 grant from Spirit Mountain Community Fund to the Wallace Medical Concern (WMC) and its partner Human Solutions, Inc. will help construct a new building to include a 7-chair dental clinic that will also serve as a training site for OHSU dental students.
Rockwood is a community rich in cultural diversity but challenged with economic distress – over 20% of families in the area have incomes below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level. Poor oral health disproportionately impacts low-income households. The 2012 Oregon Smile Survey found that children from lower-income households had substantially higher cavity rates than children from higher-income households (63% vs. 38%). Poor oral health and dental pain have negative social and economic impacts--causing children to do poorly in school and adults to miss work.
“We applaud Spirit Mountain Community Fund for so clearly understanding the urgent need for dental care in the community Wallace serves,” said Lisa Cline MPH, the organization’s CEO. “This show of confidence makes a big statement about the need for the clinic, which we hope to open in early 2016. We’re on the way!”
The new building will expand the social services hub created in 2011 with the opening of the Rockwood Multi-Service Center (RMSC). “This is a truly exciting mixed-use project which will house 45 low-income families, as well as creating space for dental care and expanded services for community residents,” commented Jean DeMaster, Executive Director of Human Solutions which will own the facility.
Wallace Medical Concern and Human Solutions’ collaboration will provide low-cost dental care as an important step in breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty for East County families. The Spirit Mountain grant brings the project within approximately $1 million of its $2.7 million goal.
Spirit Mountain Community Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
For more information about The Wallace Medical Concern, please visit www.wallacemedical.org
For more information about Human Solutions, Inc., please visit http://www.humansolutions.org
The Coalition of Community Health Clinics commends member Wallace Medical Concern and community partner Human Solutions for their leadership and advocacy on this issue. We also appreciate Spirit Mountain Community Fund and all the philanthropic organizations that financially support the overwhelming need for uninsured and Oregon Health Plan patients' oral health services. Portland is moving beyond the contentious fluoridated water supply vote into practical, direct solutions through collective efforts.