QueensCare's New Mobile Dental Clinic Hits the Road
By Terry A. Bonecutter, President & CEO, QueensCare
QueensCare Quarterly
Spring 2001

LAUSD Director of District Nursing Services Karen Maiorca, RN, BSN, M.Ed (left); DNS Resource Nurse Susan Lacombe, RN, PHN (right) and School Nurse Bella Tolentino, RN in front of QueensCare's Mobile Dental van.

QueensCare's Dental program is on the move--literally. It's destination: LAUSD elementary schools. A state-of-the-art Mobile Dental unit was put in service in May, after being "broken in" by dentists at the QueensCare Family Clinic in Hollywood. It is now at Union Elementary School where it treats 2nd and 3rd graders. This new program was made possible by a generous grant from the Everychild Foundation, which enabled QueensCare to buy and equip the van; and cooperation from Los Angeles Unified School District's Nursing Services. QueensCare is providing operating funding and staffing the 48-foot long unit.

The need is urgent. Two studies tell the story. The State Department of Health Services, working with The California Wellness Foundation, found "a neglected epidemic" of dental problems among California's children. The Lewin Research Group reported some 70 percent of K-3 kids across the State suffer from oral disease. Los Angeles County, QueensCare's area of service, has one of the highest percentages of underserved, adults and children, for health care of all kinds, including oral care. Many LAUSD kids have never seen a dentist in their young lives.

It's a full house at LAUSD's Union Elementary School as QueensCare kicks-off its Mobile Dental Program for 2nd & 3rd graders.

That situation is changing at Union Elementary School, located in the Echo Park area, the first stop for the QueensCare's new Mobile Dental unit. The trailer is scheduled to remain on campus for approximately two months, before moving on to other schools.

The mobile unit has three chairs. Equipment includes two x-ray machines; 30 interchangeable hand pieces for drilling teeth; and curing lights and other special tools to facilitate tooth filling. Children with problems that cannot be treated on the spot are referred to QueensCare Family Clinics, and special referrals to the USC School of Dentistry. In March, QueensCare clinics provided dental care for over 1,700 patients, both adults and children, a number that increases monthly.

A full spectrum of oral care is part of QueensCare's commitment to meet the health care needs of low-income and uninsured workers and their families in Central Los Angeles County. Our new Mobile Dental unit is a significant move in that direction.