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Mercy Health Foundation unveils new mobile dental clinic

By Mahoning Matters staff
Paul Homick, president of Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley, and M. Frank Beck, director of the St. Elizabeth Dental Clinic and residency programs, were among the first to tour the new $450,000 mobile dental clinic. (Contributed photo)
Paul Homick, president of Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley, and M. Frank Beck, director of the St. Elizabeth Dental Clinic and residency programs, were among the first to tour the new $450,000 mobile dental clinic. (Contributed photo)

YOUNGSTOWN — Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley and Mercy Health Youngstown unveiled the latest addition to their fleet of mobile dental clinics today on the campus of St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

The $450,000 unit is the newest of three mobile dental clinics and is scheduled to hit the road Monday (Feb. 3). It will officially replace the first mobile dental clinic, a 19-year-old medical van retrofitted to provide dental services.

The new mobile dental clinic features two treatment areas — one that will be used for routine preventive care such as cleanings, the other for more complex procedures such as extractions and root canals. It will increase the capacity of the mobile dental fleet by up to 25 percent, said M. Frank Beck, director of the St. Elizabeth Dental Clinic and residency programs.

Last year, Beck said, the mobile dental clinics collectively served almost 1,700 patients at more than 125 different locations.

"This year, with the new unit, we expect to serve somewhere around 2,000 or 2,100 individuals," Beck said in a news release.

"Expanding access to dental care and our capacity to care for more patients is extremely important," said Paul Homick Jr., president of Mercy Health Foundation MV. "Access to dental care is an ongoing problem in our community. It is consistently identified as an unmet need by our community health needs assessment, and in many instances is identified as the No. 1 unmet need."

A dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant and driver who doubles as the front office staff are attached to each of the mobile dental clinics.

The mobile dental clinics visit schools, health fairs, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, senior centers, primary care offices, day-care centers, libraries, detention centers, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and community centers throughout Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Carroll counties.

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Mercy Health Foundation unveils new mobile dental clinic."