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.