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2008 marked the 10th anniversary of the PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program's mobile dental clinic, which has logged some 50,000 miles since it first rolled into action in early 1998. In the decade since, it has provided more than 158,000 treatments to 50,000 children at 17 sites in New York's Sullivan and Ulster counties.

In its early days, the mobile dental clinic went to only two school sites, staying parked in one location for a week or two at a time. Now, with 17 sites on its route - and more to come in 2009 - the clinic goes to one location per day. The increase in the number of sites and children served per year by the clinic (1,581 children in 2007) is a direct result of the excellent reputation for quality dental care that PRASAD CDHP has earned in the region, as well as the program's outreach efforts to identify and treat children whose parents can't afford the cost of dental care.

"Word gets around from the parents, who are so grateful for the program, and that helps let more people know about us," says Ivette Acosta, PRASAD CDHP administrative assistant, who has been with the mobile dental clinic since the beginning. "We are seeing so many more patients now . yet there are still people that don't know about us, and still more children needing dental care."

Another outcome of PRASAD's decade of dedicated outreach is that Sullivan County now boasts one of the highest rates of children with state-funded dental insurance in the region, despite also being home to higher poverty rates than neighboring counties. "I let every patient know that they have this option because most people are not aware of it," says Ivette, who estimates that she has helped about 20 percent of patients without insurance coverage sign up for the state's Child Health Plus plan.

The mobile dental clinic also is one of the few facilities in the area that accepts Medicaid. Larry Whipple, of Grahamsville, N.Y., was most relieved to know this when his 11-year-old foster son complained of a toothache. "[These] were the only people we found in Sullivan County that took Medicaid," he said.

As the PRASAD CDHP mobile dental clinic looks ahead to its next decade of service, one priority will be finding funds to replace the 10-year-old vehicle.

"The demand for the clinic's services continues to grow," says PRASAD CDHP Program Administrator Dr. Cecilia Escarra. "Thousands of families in this region depend on the mobile dental clinic to be there for their children's dental care needs.

The current vehicle has given us 10 wonderful years of service and is still functioning, but repairs are becoming more costly and more frequent. The resulting downtime means schools are not being visited and children are not getting the dental care they need. We are hopeful that the means to replace the current mobile dental clinic will manifest in 2009.”

We invite you to support the mobile dental clinic by making a one-time donation or, even better, becoming a PRASAD CDHP partner. To learn more, click here.

PRASAD CDHP
465 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747
Phone: 845.434.0376 | Fax: 845.434.0377