News & Media

February, 2004

ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL OPENS PEDIATRIC DENTAL CENTER
IN PAWTUCKET

New facility will support ongoing commitment and expansion of the
Pawtucket Smiles school-based program

Officials from St. Joseph Hospital today announced the opening of its new Pediatric Dental Center in Pawtucket and a further commitment to continue and expand the school-based dental outreach program, Pawtucket Smiles, serving more than 2,000 public school children.

The new Pediatric Dental Center, which will be located at the hospital's Fatima Health Center at 40 Broad Street, is part of an ongoing effort to bring much-needed pediatric dental care to the underserved populations in the Blackstone Valley area. It will also serve as an essential referral site for children screened as part of the Pawtucket Smiles program and who need follow up and or routine dental care but don't have a family dentist.

"This initiative assures the children of northern Rhode Island greater access to the dental care they so greatly need and deserve," said H. John Keimig, President and CEO, St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island. "Providing adequate access to dental care for underprivileged children is a growing part of our health mission, and we are proud to announce this significant expansion of our pediatric dental efforts."

Hospital officials were joined by Congressman Patrick Kennedy who, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, was instrumental in securing federal funding in the amount of $337,000 for the project from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

"The Pawtucket Smiles program has done an incredible job in bringing dental hygiene and oral health to numerous children who would not normally receive such services, " said Kennedy. "With this federal appropriation and the expertise of St. Joseph Hospital, we will now be able to reach more children in the Pawtucket school system and ensure they receive dental care regardless of whether or not they have insurance. This type of program has been an enormous success in Providence and I'm certain we will see the same results here in Pawtucket."

The need for a Pediatric Dental facility in Pawtucket is well documented. The center is located in a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (DHPSA). According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, the dentist-to-population ratio in Pawtucket is far in excess of the 1 to 5000 ratio recommended for practitioners providing oral health services to people in the low income, underinsured and uninsured categories. The center-which will serve predominantly low-income and immigrant children on Medicaid or without insurance-hopes to provide dental care for over 3,000 area children, including those referred from the Pawtucket Smiles program.

According to Keimig, like many other parts of the country, Rhode Island is dealing with a shortage of dentists, particularly pediatric dentists. Compounding the problem, are low reimbursement rates for private practitioners treating Medicaid patients as well as language and cultural barriers.

The Fatima Health Center in Pawtucket is a community health center offering prenatal, pediatric and women's care as well as diabetes care and education. The new dental program will include two full-service operatories, a full-time dentist, dental assistant and hygienist. An outreach worker will also be available for follow up with children and their families.

Pawtucket Smiles was launched in 2000 in cooperation with the Pawtucket School Department. During the school year, mobile dental teams consisting of a dentist, dental assistant and hygienist visit three inner city schools and provide examinations, cleanings, flouride treatment and sealants. New funding will extend this outreach effort with a goal of expanding to other schools in the future.

St. Joseph Hospital in Providence operates the state's busiest Pediatric Dental Center and has run Providence Smiles, a nationally recognized model school-based sealant program, since 1997. St. Joseph is affiliated with Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, both divisions of St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island.