Eighteen Organizations Receive Nearly $157,000 For Programs to Improve Illinois Children's Oral Health

Posted on November 1, 2016 in In the Community

Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation Awards Community Grants 

Through its Community Grants Program, the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation, the 501 (c)(3) philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Illinois, awarded a total of $156,702 to 18 nonprofit and community organizations providing programs and services to improve children's oral health in Illinois.

“Since 2013, the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation has awarded more than $600,000 in community grants to organizations that help us improve children's oral health and access to dental care across the state. We are proud to support this year's grant recipients, who were chosen for their commitment to children's oral health and oral health education in Illinois.” said Lora Vitek, director of philanthropy and community relations for the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation. “The Foundation is always looking for ways to expand our services to the community, improve oral health literacy and break down the barriers that keep Illinois children from having access to good oral health care.”

The following organizations received grants from Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation to prevent dental disease and improve access to oral health care for Illinois children.

Alivio Medical Center, Chicago: $10,000
The Alivio Medical Center will use grant funding to expand services at its Berwyn clinic to provide dental care to 700 children through its Oral Health Service Expansion program. The grant also will help create a medical and dental home for children. The Berwyn clinic serves individuals in Cicero and Berwyn in Suburban Cook County. Alivio Medical Center's mission is to deliver quality, culturally sensitive oral care to its patients.

America's ToothFairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: $5,000
America's ToothFairy's #MySmileMatters Engagement Plan is the only national youth engagement effort focused exclusively on addressing the issue of children's dental health and wellness. With Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation's support, #MySmileMatters will engage high school students in oral health activities and encourage them to take positive action to improve oral health in their communities. Through a statewide youth grant competition and community activities, #MySmileMatters will help increase oral health literacy and access to dental care.

Bond County Health Department, Greenville: $6,339
The Bond County Health Department's Dental Clinic serves more than 4,000 patients annually. The Dental Clinic also serves two rural school districts by providing dental sealants to 789 students through its Dental Sealant program. The Dental Clinic will use this grant to purchase a M11-020 UltraClave Sterilizer to assist with providing quality dental care to children.

Chicago Family Health, Chicago: $2,000
The Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC) created the Smiles for the Future: Pediatric Dental Care program in response to the disparities between pediatric patients' oral and physical health at its Pullman location. The CFHC will use grant funds to purchase equipment for a newly hired bilingual dental hygienist who is leading the Smiles for the Future: Pediatric Dental Care program. The Smiles for the Future program is working to improve both the oral and physical health of children by integrating the medical and dental departments at the Pullman clinic and providing dental care to children after their well-child visits.

City Colleges of Chicago Foundation – Malcolm X College, Chicago: $7,000
The Malcolm X College Dental Hygiene Clinic will use the grant to purchase a Nomad Pro 2 X-ray machine for dental hygiene students to use in the dental simulation laboratory area. This portable unit will help students become proficient at taking X-rays in radiology laboratory courses prior to treating patients, and will be used in clinical courses for direct patient care. The Nomad Pro 2 allows the operator to stay with the patient, which reduces the time required for X-ray procedures, making it ideal for use on children and patients with special needs.

Crusader Community Health, Rockford: $10,000
Crusader Community Health and Rockford Public Schools (RPS) have a successful partnership improving the health of more than 29,000 Rockford students. Crusader Community Health and RPS will utilize the grant to develop a two-phase oral health awareness and education campaign for RPS students and the Rockford community. With the help of students from Auburn High School, phase one will focus on incorporating previously developed educational videos into age-appropriate presentations and awareness commercials, which will be presented to their peers at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. In phase two, students will expand their presentations to other RPS schools, as well as to community groups and at public events, to extend their message as it relates to the benefits of oral health care and its correlation to other medical conditions.

Douglas County Health Department, Tuscola: $10,000
With the grant from Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation, the Douglas County Health Department Dental Clinic will provide oral health care and education to the Amish population residing within Douglas, Coles and Moultrie Counties. The dental clinic will provide oral health education, cleanings and sealants to students from 12 faith-based schools at an off-site community center that serves the Amish Community. Follow-up restorative care will be provided at the dental clinic.

Erie Family Health, Chicago: $10,000
This year, Erie Family Health is focusing on integrating primary and oral health care to provide a complete wellness visit for patients. Erie Family Health will use the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation grant funds to add a dental hygienist and dental assistant to its Evanston/Skokie location. Erie Family Health plans to serve 8,750 Illinois children this coming year.

Hancock County Health Department, Carthage: $6,548
The Hancock County Health Department Dental Center serves all children throughout central Illinois. It will use the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation grant to purchase an oil-free air compressor and four sets of dental hygiene tools. The new equipment will supply air to the Dental Center's operatories and will provide the tools necessary for dental hygiene services. With the addition of this equipment, the Dental Center will be able to add 2,250 appointment slots for children.

Infant Welfare Society (IWS) of Chicago, Chicago: $10,000
The Infant Welfare Society (IWS) of Chicago provides low-income children with access to oral health care and education. The grant will support IWS' oral health program that serves more than 5,000 children. IWS connects children to the dental care they need for a healthy life and is part of the Angel Harvey Community Health Center in the Logan Square neighborhood.

Milestone, Inc., Rockford: $10,000
Milestone, Inc. is a non-profit organization serving children and adults with developmental disabilities. Milestone's Dental Clinic is one of the few free-standing dental clinics in the nation serving only children and adults with developmental disabilities. The demand for the unique services provided by the Dental Clinic continues to grow. Milestone will use grant funds to provide dental care to children who are served by the Dental Clinic.

Misericordia Home, Chicago: $9,815
Misericordia Home's on-campus dental clinic provides dental care and oral health education to 400 children, including 23 who have special healthcare needs. Most of these 23 children visit the clinic for their regular appointments every six months for treatment; some visit more frequently due to specific concerns; and some of these patients visit the clinic for desensitization sessions. Grant funding will be used to support care costs for these 23 children.

Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation, Chicago: $10,000
Since 2014, Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation's Mobile Dental Program has served schools in Cook County through the use of two dental vans and a portable dental clinic. Last year, the Mobile Dental Program provided services to 7,500 children. This grant will be used to purchase dental supplies to treat the 10,000 children the foundation plans to serve this coming year.

Norwegian American Hospital, Chicago: $10,000
Norwegian American Hospital, located in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood, serves its community through its pediatric dental van program. The dental van provides restorative dental care to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students and supplements CPS' preventive dental care program. In 2017, the van will provide dental care to 1,078 children and secure dental homes for at least 35 percent of its patients. Funding from Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation will help Norwegian American implement a new electronic health record system and provide supplies for the dental van.

Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society, Oak Park: $10,000
Grant funding for the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society's Children's Clinic will be used to support the Oral Health Outreach and Education program that provides preventive dental care and oral health education to low-income Chicago-area children. Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society's Children's Clinic is a full-service pediatric health clinic providing services to children in West Cook and DuPage counties and the City of Chicago.

Pike County Health Department, Pittsfield: $10,000
The Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation grant awarded to the Pike County Health Department will be used to support a new part-time dentist and to purchase dental supplies. Pike County Health Department serves 1,700 children annually and is committed to providing quality, comprehensive oral health care and a dental home for its patients.

Promise Healthcare, Champaign: $10,000
SmileHealthy, a program of Promise Healthcare, will use the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation grant to provide a dental hygienist to Frances Nelson, its community health center. Frances Nelson provides child and prenatal health care, as well as oral health education and patient introduction to the onsite dental center. The SmileHealthy programs work to address three areas: reduction of early childhood caries, promotion of visiting the dentist by age 1 and the integration of oral and physical health.

Riverbend Head Start and Family Services, Alton: $10,000
The Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation grant awarded to Riverbend Head Start and Family Services will be used to help fund its Oral Health Education and Access project. This project provides oral health care services to expectant mothers and 800 children, age 5 and younger, who are enrolled in the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The Oral Health Education and Access project also provides annual dental exams to children, age 3 and older, through dental clinics held at six child development centers every August for families without a dental home. If a child is identified as needing follow-up treatment or oral surgery, Riverbend partners with area dental providers to ensure the child receives the necessary treatment at no cost.

To learn more about the Delta Dental of Illinois Community Grants Program or to support the Foundation, please visit deltadentalil.com/ddilfoundation.