The UConn Foundation received a $250,000 grant from Delta Dental of Connecticut, presented to them at the UConn vs. Villanova Women’s Basketball game on Sunday.
The three-year grant will help provide dental services to patients with special needs, according to Maria Kucinski, Vice President of MikeWorldWide.
“The three-year grant will enable the [UConn] School of Dental Medicine to hire faculty, provide training, offset dental expenses and offer more flexible hours, including weekends, to treat patients. The grant is aimed at helping patients with special health care needs, including developmental disabilities, autism, and patients with acquired disabilities, such as traumatic brain injuries or Parkinson’s Disease,” Kucinski said in an email.
The grant will allow the UConn School of Dental Medicine to host “Special Care Days” during the weekends this summer to treat patients with special needs. The increase in hours will allow more patients with special needs to be treated, per Steven Lepowsky, dean of the School of Dental Medicine.
“One of the barriers these patients face is having family members or caregivers able to take time off from work to take them to the dentist. […] This will expand our capabilities and our capacity to have a significant impact on the amount of care we provide and help address issues of access to care,” Lepowsky said in the UConn Foundation announcement.
According to UConn Health, this increase in hours will allow more than 900 additional outpatients visits, 72 additional operating room procedures, and as many as 300 more visits on weekend “Special Care Days”.
The grant will also help hire additional faculty members, including those who have experience in assisting patients with special needs. These new faculty members will also develop educational content to prepare UConn students to treat patients with special needs. This educational content includes “Continuing Education” courses offered to dentists around Connecticut as well.
The School of Dental Medicine already assists more special needs patients than anywhere else in the state, according to Lepowsky.
This includes hosting “Special Smiles” days, where UConn dental students volunteer to provide dental care to Special Olympics athletes during the Connecticut Special Olympic Summer Games. These “Special Smiles” days have been running for almost two decades according to a UConn Today article.
According to the UConn Foundation announcement, the grant will allow “Special Smiles” day volunteers to expand their services.
“While hosting these ‘Special Smiles’ days, the faculty, students, and dental residents who run them have noticed that some of the athletes don’t follow up with the recommended dental treatments. To address this, the grant will enable the school to partner with Special Olympics to implement a robust tracking and referral program to ensure that patients get follow-up appointments,” the announcement states.
The School of Dental Medicine funds for families with financial challenges will also increase due to the grant, according to Delta Dental Foundation President Caryl Russo.
“This program is important because, in addition to providing vital dental treatment, it also provides peace of mind to patients and their loved ones. Life is stressful, especially when someone you love has special health care needs,” Russo stated in the UConn Foundation announcement. “This program will hopefully alleviate some of that stress and improve the oral health of thousands of patients that may have otherwise gone without dental care and address issues before they become more dire and critical.”
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My grandma has Parkinson’s disease, she is about 75 years old it was detected 7 years ago. Right now it’s getting more difficult to live for her, because of stiff muscles she can’t even move. L-dopa and carbidopa medicines are given, but won”t give much relief. She can”t eat food and the skin is damaging forming ganglia. I thought this might be the last stage and the medications she was given did not help at all, so I started to do alot of research on natural treatments, I was introduced to Health Natural Centre in Hawaii U.S and their Parkinson’s Herbal Protocol. She started on the Parkinson’s Treatment last year, her symptoms gradually diminished including her Tremors, Body Weakness and Muscle Pains. Reach them at healthnaturalcentre.org , She is getting active again since starting this treatment, she is able to walk again ( down the street and back ) and able to ride her treadmill again!
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