University of
Southern California Dental Clinic at Union Rescue Mission
Wins 2005 NHSC Award of Excellence
It is
estimated that in Los Angeles County, there are over 90,000
homeless people. Five years ago, the University of Southern
California School of Dentistry (USCSD) developed a partnership
with the Union Rescue Mission (URM) to create a comprehensive
dental care clinic within URM for the homeless men, women
and children living in the central city Skid Row area — something
that was not present at that time. As a stark comparison,
there were five non-profit medical clinics serving the indigent
in Skid Row.
Niel Nathason,
Director of Community and Special Projects at the USCSD, said,
“Prior to our opening the clinic in May of 2000, there were
only two dental chairs in Skid Row — mainly for extractions.
The USC-URM Dental Clinic provides comprehensive oral healthcare,
including specialty care and dentures, for most of our patients.
That allows people to change their self images and go through
their rehabilitation programs with confidence. It is hard
to dress somebody up and send them to an interview when they
don’t feel good about themselves. We help to change the way
people feel.”
USC collaborated
with the medical practitioners and other social services and
shelters in the area to establish a referral methodology for
patient services. The clinic receives referrals from major
shelters, social services, medical providers…even from the
other onsite clinics within Union Rescue Mission that provide
legal, mental health and medical services.
“It’s
like our own network,” Nathason said.
The sheer
volume of services provided speaks for the need the clinic
serves. Just under 2,000 patients were treated in over 11,000
clinic encounters in the first three years of operations.
During this period patients received over 25,000 dental procedures!
And due to increasing demand, adjacent space has been renovated,
and two additional dental operatory chairs were added this
year.
“Adding
those two new dental chairs may allow us to double or triple
the number of urgent care visits,” Nathason explained. “We
are able to help people from the surrounding shelters and
straight off the street in getting emergency care so they
don’t have to go all the way to the county hospital that primarily
does extractions. Additionally, to get to the county hospital
it is probably a 15 minute drive for you and me in a car,
but for somebody else it is a long distance and many bus transfers.
This expansion is helping to increase the immediate access
for people in the Skid Row area.”
The clinic’s
bilingual dentist, the dental assistants and the university’s
dental and dental hygiene students take oral health education
and disease prevention beyond the clinic’s walls. They and
other school staff distribute toothbrushes, toothpaste and
educational materials to organizations in Skid Row and shelters
all over Los Angeles County that serve the homeless population.
To date, they have distributed over 65,000 toothbrushes, oral
health and hygiene supplies, and educational materials.
Each of
the students in the USC dental and dental hygiene programs
do a mandatory rotation at the clinic. On any given day,
up to six students are working at the clinic.
“Because
we are doing comprehensive care at the URM clinic, students
do a seven-week rotation, one day each successive week,” Nathason
said. “This allows them to develop relationships with the
patients and complete some of the really lengthy procedures.
It allows them to see the complete makeover.”
But the
patients are not the only ones who experience a transformation.
“We are beginning to survey our students and residents regarding
their attitude toward treating the homeless. I believe that
by serving at the Mission, they become more philanthropic
and more caring, and I hope to show this through their feedback.”
Some students
enjoy the experience so much that they return for multiple
rotations. One resident, Dr. Kathy Elizondo, stayed on to
serve her NHSC scholarship obligation after completing her
residency at the clinic. Even though she fulfilled her scholarship
obligation period, she stayed and became the clinic Dental
Director, and is now receiving loan repayment from the NHSC.
In the
words of a former student who did three rotations voluntarily
at the USC-URM Dental Clinic, “This opportunity has allowed
me to enrich the well-being of people who are trying to piece
their lives back together. The service that the USC School
of Dentistry is providing for the Union Rescue Mission residents
is truly making a difference in their lives.”
Learn about other
NHSC success stories. |