December 22, 1999
Holiday program brings smiles to needy recipients
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
This holiday donation is guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of the happy recipient.
For just $18, you can help a low-income child receive preventative dental care, courtesy of the Adopt-A-Smile program. Borrowing from the Adopt-a-Road theme, the idea is the collective brainchild of employees of the Family Independence Agency. They decided this year that instead of exchanging holiday gifts among themselves they wanted to contribute to needy area families.
While there are already so many worthy causes vying for dollars, staff members decided to find a way to support the Medicaid Dental Clinic, a program that does not have any fund-raising specifically earmarked for it. Helping the clinic was important to them because they know that dental care is also something that low-income families pass by when they are trying to stretch their dollars every month.
"Preventative dental care for children has been identified by state officials as one of the most critical needs for low-income families," said Robert Porter, director of the Grand Traverse County Family Independence Agency. "When businesses call us for ideas about how to help, I can promote Adopt-A-Smile as something a little bit different for their employees to donate to. We just received $180 from employees of the Members' Credit Union on South Airport Road, which will fund 10 children's check ups."
Since December 6, the lobby of the Family Independence Agency on Hastings Street has sported a Christmas tree with Adopt-A-Smile ornaments. Each ornament features a toothbrush and the name and age of a child needing dental care. A donation of $18 removes the ornament from the tree, sends a child to the dentist and then home with a brand new toothbrush.
The $18 represents the difference between the actual cost of a routine checkup and the rate of Medicaid reimbursement - a difference that goes to paying the dentist, buying supplies and the clinic's overhead. The local clinic on M-72, which now serves patients in Benzie, Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties, struggles because of the low reimbursement rates. It even closed for a time earlier this year when the staff dentist left.
Since the clinic opened in 1995, the county has helped offset the cost of the low reimbursement rate, but those funds only serve fewer than half of the children in need. The money from the Adopt-A-Smile program will help even more children have access to the clinic's services.
"Of the 2,000-3,000 children eligible we can only serve 1,200-1,400 every year because of funding," said Fred Keeslar, director of public health for Grand Traverse County, which is administering the money. "Adopt-A-Smile is a great program because it helps fund more children in the area who need this care."
Porter hopes this season's Adopt-A-Smile program is just the beginning of an ongoing funding stream for the dental clinic.
"We hope to continue this program throughout the year, not just seasonally," Porter said. "The money needs to flow in. We are encouraging other dentists in the area to participate because it takes a big burden off of them."
For more information on the Adopt-A-Smile program, which runs through the end of the year, contact the Grand Traverse County Health Department at 922-4831 or the Grand Traverse County Family Independence Agency at 941-3900.