Rural Health Medical Program awarded $300K to expand oral health services

Rural Health Medical Program, Inc. was one of 298 community health centers across the nation awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to expand their oral health service capacity through new infrastructure enhancements.

HHS and HRSA awarded over $85 million. These investments are the first by HRSA to solely focus on oral health infrastructure and will enable HRSA-funded health centers to provide new, or enhance existing, oral health services.

The award of $300,000 will support physical and organizational infrastructure investments for the Rural Health Medical Program, such as minor alteration and renovation to modernize existing facilities, purchase and installation of dental and radiology equipment, training and consultation to increase oral health integration, and purchase of mobile dental units to increase access to oral health care in hard-to-reach parts of communities.

“It is such a privilege for us to be able to provide access to oral health services as it is much needed in our communities. This funding will allow us to bring the highest quality of dental services to our patients,” said Keshee Dozier Smith, CEO of Rural Health Medical Program, Inc.

In 2018, HRSA-funded health centers served more than 6.4 million dental patients, a 13 percent increase from 2016, and provided more than 16.5 million dental visits.