The Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative is working to break what the United States Surgeon General David Satcher called a "silent crisis in oral health."
Through the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery's Community DentCare Network, the Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative provides over 10,000 oral health visits annually at local schools.
With dental facilities at six school-based sites, DentCare is able to follow up on a child's dental treatment throughout his/her years in school. The program provides dental care to children who often miss out on the most basic treatment.
Phyllis Williams, principal of Intermediate School 143, said, "Lots of times, kids would sit in classrooms holding their head in their hand and not knowing what to do about it. We couldn't do a whole lot to help them."
Northern Manhattan Community Voices, the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Harlem Hospital Dental Service, and the Children's Aid Society have also partnered to bring preventative and restorative dental care to the doorsteps of pre-school aged children with a state-of-the-art mobile dental van that is wheelchair accessible and is decorated with pastel colors to make children feel at ease.
The goal of the program is to provide pre-schoolers with quality and affordable dental care, while instilling the beginning skills for good oral health. An outreach worker is present at each site to provide assistance.
The costs of operating the van are met through grants from Columbia University and the Children's Aid Society. "If children are insured through Medicaid, we get reimbursed," says Sandra Harris, Project Director of Northern Manhattan Community Voices. "If not, we treat them anyway."
The van workers provide outreach to help the parents of eligible children enroll in Medicaid or other services.
The WE CARE program, an innovative community training program established by Northern Manhattan Community Voices, provides dental services to HIV+ patients at community sites providing medical and social services.
WE CARE offers a portable service that provides on-site dental services to 300 HIV-infected patients at four community HIV service programs. In addition to the WE CARE program is the WE CARE Community Residency Program that builds commitment to Northern Manhattan community dental practices.
Northern Manhattan Community Voices is partnering with Columbia University Health Care, Inc. (CUHC) to develop a clinic for seniors and adults at the Mannie L. Wilson Senior Citizen Residency Towers, which will provide medical and dental services to underinsured and minority patients.
CUHC dental staff will provide exams, cleanings, sealants, dentures, and other basic services, as well as smoking cessation programs and other education. A Columbia University faculty member will manage a staff including dentists, dental hygienists, and dental technicians.
Other community training programs include the Dental Assistant Training Program, which targets community residents. Twenty-five trainees have graduated from the program.
One trainee said, "This program has opened the door for me to meet so many wonderful people, to expand my mind, to go and do more. I've been able to go back to finish my B.A., and maybe later I will go on to hygienist training. I feel empowered."
One of the goals of the Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative is to strengthen community input into the decision-making process.
Community Voices created a Dental Community Advisory Committee to help guide its decisions about service allocation among DentCare sites, scheduling of visits by the mobile treatment unit, and selection of new DentCare sites.
The Northern Manhattan Community Voices Collaborative will continue to address oral health issues by creating a model practice with Columbia University's Pediatrics Medicine Early Intervention Program and the creation of a comprehensive dental and medical facility in Central Harlem.