By Mountain Family Health Centers
Starting in June, Mountain Family will be able to provide dental services to patients at our Glenwood Springs health center, thanks to generous funding from the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation.
Mountain Family is one of ten nonprofit medical practices that will integrate a dental hygienist into medical teams to provide dental hygiene services. The funding is part of what’s called “Wave II” of the Colorado Medical-Dental Integration (CO MDI) Project.
As the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation (DDCOF) describes it, “the overarching goal of the CO MDI Project is to reach families with limited access to dental care due to transportation issues, geography, lack of access to providers who accept their insurance, or other socio-economic factors.”
Since the CO MDI project started 2015, twenty-six medical practices have received funding. Initial evaluation data for the CO MDI Project indicate greater access to dental care for historically underserved Coloradans. However, access to care continues to be an issue for many Colorado populations.
When announcing the latest wave of funding recipients, including Mountain Family, the Foundation said the 10 new practices were selected to receive funding because of their ability to demonstrate:
- Potential for a sustainable model of medical-dental integration for those experiencing oral health disparities, with an emphasis on disparities related to poverty or geography.
- A clear desire to expand patient services to include full scope preventive dental care.
- A readiness for medical-dental integration.
Starting May 7th, Mountain Family will provide additional dental services in Glenwood Springs at our Mobile Dental Van. The Mobile Dental Van will alternate every two weeks between our Glenwood Springs health center parking lot, at 1905 Blake Avenue, Suite 101, and the El Jebel Community Center, at 0020 Eagle County Drive in El Jebel.