September 4, 2019 3:40 a.m.
The Healthy Kids Outreach Program of the Mercy Foundation has received a $150,000 grant from the Ford Family Foundation in support of continued dental hygiene and education in Douglas County.
Kathleen Nickel of Mercy Medical said grant objectives include reducing the number of youth that require additional treatment and providing an additional 5% of students with oral health education and services.
Mercy Foundation President Lisa Platt said the funding will allow the Healthy Kids Outreach Staff to increase the number of youth served through onsite dental clinics twice a year throughout Douglas County. Platt said in addition they will be working with the Douglas County Oral Health Coalition to increase engagement with families in children under age 5, to help them develop good oral health habits early.
Nickel said HKOP was established by Mercy Foundation to help improve the health and wellbeing of children throughout Douglas County. One program focuses on improving dental health by providing dental assessments and preventative treatments, dental hygiene education and connections to care at schools throughout the county.
The release said that school site clinics are staffed by hygienists and provide full screenings, including fluoride varnish and sealants to untreated erupted molars. Each student receives an oral hygiene kit that includes toothbrushes, tooth paste, tooth timers and a report card. If a child has an urgent dental need, the foundation helps their family get connected for an appointment with one of the 13 participating local dentists, according to the release.
Trina Gwaltney, program manager for HKOP said by being able to consistently provide dental health services and education to kids while they are at school, “we are helping to ensure they can have a lifetime of excellent oral health”. She said the grant funding is helping them to “continue to do this important work and achieve our goal of helping any child in our county that is identified with an urgent or immediate dental need receive treatment and connection to a permanent dental care home”.
For more information on the Health Kids Outreach Program, call Mercy Foundation at 677-4818.