Dogwood Health Trust invests in dental care for western North Carolina
East Carolina University’s School of Dental Medicine aims to increase sustainability and provide more patient access in western North Carolina through a grant from Dogwood Health Trust.
The three-year, $593,000 grant invests more than $85,000 in Patient Care Funds and more than $425,000 in salary support for existing and additional positions at the Sylva and Spruce Pine Community Service Learning Centers (CSLC). The grant will ensure that more uninsured individuals receive services and allow the centers to provide competitive salaries in hiring clinical staff and practice management positions.
“We are honored to receive support from Dogwood Health Trust as we work to fulfill our mission of serving the people of western North Carolina. Support of patient care funds allows us to serve even more patients in rural and underserved communities through our CSLCs,” said Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the ECU School of Dental Medicine. “Their generosity will help us sustain these clinics and ensure that we provide competitive pay in a challenging economic market.”
Dogwood Health Trust was created in 2018 to improve the health and wellness of people in western North Carolina.
“There is a shortage of dentists in Western North Carolina, and this directly affects the well-being of many residents, especially children. This investment will help more people gain access to oral health care while also expanding the oral health workforce, two things we care deeply about,” said Channah VanRegenmorter, program officer for health and wellness at Dogwood Health Trust.
Chadwick said the School of Dental Medicine aims to study the efficacy of the project to see if it can positively impact workforce recruitment and retention of key personnel.
A grant from the Dogwood Health Trust will help the ECU School of Dental Medicine provide more access for patients and help leverage salaries for staff.
(SoDM photo)
The two western North Carolina clinics care for approximately 3,000 patients annually, driven by the school’s mission of preparing dentist leaders and increasing access to oral health care for patients across the state, especially in rural and underserved communities. During their fourth year, students gain experience working at the school’s CSLCs across the state.
A patient at CSLC-Spruce Pine receives care during an ECU Smiles for Veterans event. A grant from Dogwood Health Trust will help improve patient care and staff salaries in the dental school’s CSLCs in Spruce Pine and Sylva.
(SoDM photo)
“With successful clinics, we are better able to provide our students with high-quality educational and clinical experiences and create innovative solutions to the oral health challenges in our region and state,” he said.
The pilot project, created because of the grant, will create an administrative coordinator/practice management position to focus on the efficiency and efficacy of the Sylva and Spruce Pine CSLCs. The grant will fund the position for two years.
Additionally, funding will be used to support the salary of clinical staff members at the two CSLCs. Grant funding will be used to provide recruitment, retention and performance bonuses for the staff members.
State funding for staff positions, such as dental hygienists, is lower on average when compared to other non-state-funded salaries in the area, according to the ECU School of Dental Medicine.
“Pay disparities create challenges in our ability to recruit and retain essential staff members,” Chadwick said. “Funding from the grant will help us be more competitive in our pay for these key positions in our clinics.”
Patient Care Fund support from the grant could allow the clinics to care for close to 170 patients and help address oral health care issues that they may not otherwise have been able to afford.