DELTA DENTAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AWARDS $175,000 IN ORAL HEALTH GRANTS
Columbia, S.C. (August 2, 2022) … To help meet the dental health needs of children and adults, Delta Dental of South Carolina – a leading dental benefits provider and non-profit organization – recently awarded $175,000 in oral health grant funding to five organizations in support of oral health initiatives and educational programming in South Carolina. The funding is part of the company’s annual mission giving efforts.
“Our mission is to help people of all ages access vital dental care and educational services, so they can live better lives through improved dental health,” said Rob Goren, president and chief executive officer at Delta Dental of South Carolina. “As a non-profit, we are proud to partner with these organizations – some of which we’ve helped to support for a number of years – as they work to make a very real impact on the dental care needs of thousands of kids and adults.”
Funding through Delta Dental of South Carolina’s Oral Health Grant Program supports the operations, programming, expansion efforts, and equipment costs for organizations working to improve oral health across the state. The South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium is one of the organizations Delta Dental of South Carolina has been supporting since 2018 through a series of grants totaling $250,000. These funds support the organization’s Rural Dentist Loan Repayment Program, which improves access to care for rural/underserved South Carolinians, by providing loan repayment to dentists serving in Geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas. Based on historic patient averages, each funded dentist sees approximately 770 Medicaid patients for 1,300 visits per year and expands access to dental care in health professional shortage areas.
“I consider myself very lucky to have been selected to participate in the South Carolina Rural Dentist program,” said Lauren Callison, DMD, a 2021 Rural Dentist Program Loan Repayment Recipient practicing at Walterboro Family Dentistry located in Walterboro, South Carolina, a dental health professional shortage area. “Receiving funding has allowed me to practice in an area where there is more of a need for dental services, and I have been able to give back to many individuals who could not find an in-network provider for their dental work. We have been able to complete many procedures, including extractions, root canals, restorative work, dentures, and more, to many people who did not have access to care, and that has been incredibly rewarding. Had I not been given the opportunity to participate in the program, my educational debt may have hindered my ability to practice in a rural community, and I am very thankful for the support of the program which has allowed me to treat patients in these areas."
The complete list of oral health grants most recently awarded in South Carolina include:
• Bluffton Jasper County – Volunteers in Medicine (BJVIM) (Bluffton) – received $25,000 to sustain the needs of its Margo Dental Clinic and Oral Health Program, which provides dental cleanings, gum treatments, fillings, dental x-rays and oral health education at no cost to uninsured and underinsured adults throughout Greater Bluffton and Jasper County.
• York County Partners in Free Dentistry(Rock Hill) – received $25,000 to purchase supplies and expand access for its free dental clinic that serves the oral health care and educational needs of the poor, marginalized, and forgotten people of the community.
• Mission Dental of South Carolina, Inc. (Spartanburg) – which is also known as Spartanburg Community Dental Center – received $25,000 for the establishment of a Hygiene Program at its clinic that provides low-cost care for full-service dentistry to address unmet oral health needs of adults in Spartanburg County.
• North Charleston Dental Outreach (North Charleston) – received $50,000 to help equip three new operatories, doubling the number of North Charleston Smiles’ operatory clinics providing emergency dental care for the uninsured or those without the financial resources to seek needed relief from pain.
• South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (Charleston) – received $50,000 to support the organization’s Rural Dentist Loan Repayment Program, which improves access to care for rural/underserved South Carolinians, by providing loan repayment to dentists serving in Geographic Health Professional Shortage Areas like Abbeville, Aiken, and Allendale.
Delta Dental of South Carolina is currently accepting applications for the second grant cycle of its 2022 Oral Health Grant Program. To be eligible for an oral health grant from Delta Dental of South Carolina, applicants in South Carolina must first complete a letter of inquiry through the online application system at www.deltadentalsc.com/AboutUs/oral-health-grant-program, which includes program guidelines and application instructions. Online letters of inquiry are due on August 26, 2022, and online applications are due on September 2, 2022. Applicants must be considered tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or be a public or governmental entity, such as a public school or health department, and serve the people of South Carolina.
About Delta Dental of South Carolina
Delta Dental of South Carolina is a trade name of Delta Dental of Missouri, a dental benefits provider and a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, which operates in South Carolina under that name. It provides more than 330,000 members in South Carolina with access to affordable, high-quality dental care through group plans tailored to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to small businesses with two or more employees. Delta Dental also offers dental benefit plans directly to individuals and families. It also provides access to affordable, high-quality vision care through group vision benefit plans. The company proudly supports oral health initiatives, educational programs and charitable causes that help educate people about the importance of dental health and provide free dental care to those in need. It also created the South Carolina Dental Care Resource Guide to help individuals access information about low-cost and free dental care options in their area—available online at https://www.DeltaDentalSC.com/ResourceGuide1. To learn more about the company, visit www.DeltaDentalSC.com.