County health center bites down on oral health

SUPERIOR – The Mineral Regional Health Center will provide an opportunity for uninsured children to get free dental screening at a special clinic being held on Thursday, March 6. The clinic is being put on by MRHC and Partnership Health Center, out of Missoula. The operation will be set up in the MRHC basement, where the Mineral County Health Department is located. A mobile clinic will come from Missoula to perform the exams. PHC is expected to bring a dentist and two assistants to treat patients. According to Kristi Scott, outreach and enrollment coordinator at MRHC, the dentists will do exams, screenings and minor fillings on site. Patients will be referred to other dentists for more serious work if needed. If the health center cannot fill all the appointments with uninsured kids, Scott plans to open the clinic to kids who have insurance. If they still do not have enough, adults will be welcome to the clinic. “We’re focusing on uninsured children who have no coverage,” Scott said. “I’m really excited about [the event]. I think we’re trying to target patients, children who may not have access to dental treatment otherwise.” Because the clinic is being offered for free, MRHC was unable to work with local dentists to provide the exams. Scott explained a dentist’s office would not be able to do the work for free. The clinic will refer patients to local dentists for more in-depth care. “It’s really a great partnership that we’re trying to build,” Scott said. “We’re not taking business away from [Dr. Ordelheide]. What we’re really trying to do is help him build his business, his patient count.” With the changes being made at MRHC, it was decided these sorts of services would be good for the health center. Interim Chief Executive Officer Cindy Stergar decided they should try it out and began talking with PHC to arrange the clinic. Scott recently went to a similar clinic in Seeley Lake to get a better idea of how everything worked. She felt the trip was helpful as it gave her a better idea of what the MRHC event would need to do. “I feel really good, I think it’s going over really well,” Scott said. “It was great because I was able to ask questions about [everything].” Some of the information she gathered included how much time the dentists would need with each patient. Slots for the clinic are limited. Because of how new the program is, Scott wanted to keep it small. In this first clinic the dentists will only see seven or eight patients. The health center hopes to hold more of these clinics as time goes on. Scott said they would consider how well the event worked and how it was received. More clinics may be offered in the future. If this happens they might have more room for appointments. Scott’s initial talks with Stergar about future clinics have been promising. There has been some talk about making it a quarterly event but no decisions have been made. “This is really a test run for us,” Scott said. “It’s exciting for us to get this off the ground. Our ultimate goal is making sure everyone in the community has access to quality health care. This is one more service we want to provide.” More information about the clinics can be found by contacting Scott at 822-7134.