The Garden City Telegram
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UMMAM dental clinic reaches hundreds
Published 11/4/2008 in News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
A few young children sit in queue, waiting with a parent or two for their turn to see a dentist, a service that without the United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries, or UMMAM, they may never have had access to before.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Dr. Sunita Kaul works on Carolyn Dixon, Rolla, on Monday morning at the United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries Dental Clinic.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — From the left: Receptionist Veronica Murillo, manager and dental hygienist Mary Ellen Caldwell and receptionist Alicia Dianda stand in the reception area at United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries Dental Clinic.
The need for dental care for the uninsured and underserved is so great that the dental office is booked clear into March of next year, said registered dental hygienist and clinic manager Mary Ellen Caldwell.
"Everyone who comes in is grateful for access to these services, especially single mothers," said Caldwell, who added that the clinic, which opened in August, cares for about 60 patients a week from places as far as Tribune and Syracuse.
UMMAM is one of 21 agencies receiving funds from this year's United Way fundraising campaign, and the monetary support will benefit UMMAM's new dental clinic, located in the basement of St. Catherine Medical Building, said chief executive office Stephanie Waggoner.
"The need for dental care is so huge," said Waggoner, who added that in past years, United Way funds have benefitted immunization efforts, but the need for the clinic was greater this year. While Waggoner could not say what percentage of the United Way funds is a part of their operating budget, the funding is crucial, nonetheless, to the group's continued health care services in the region. Nothing like it is available in this area, added Waggoner.
The dental clinic, which is equipped with two dental chairs, an education room for health consultations and one full-time dentist, Dr. Sunita Kaul, services a wide range of people across economic and ethnic groups, including a large number of people who may have health insurance but lack dental insurance or access to dental care, Waggoner said.
The new initiative is only one part of UMMAM's Community Care Centers and Health Clinics, which offer a comprehensive array of social, spiritual, educational and medical programs throughout southwest Kansas to people of all races, colors and faiths and have done so since 1974.
The group has health care centers in Garden City, Dodge City, Liberal, Ulysses, Johnson City and Satanta, and is the only safety-net clinic organization in the region. A safety-net clinic is a nonprofit agency that delivers critical primary health-care services regardless of an individual's ability to pay, according to the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved.
Payment for dental services by patients at the UMMAM clinic is based on income, Caldwell said. While the need for access to affordable dental care continues to grow, Waggoner said, hiring new dentists or further equipping the facilities down the road will take more time and funding.
"What we do is for this community," Waggoner said. "And we greatly appreciate the help of the United Way."
The other 20 agencies receiving this year's funds from United Way include the following: The Emmaus House, Community Day Care, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Finney and Kearny Counties, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, The Salvation Army, Santa Fe Trail Council Boy Scouts, Russell Child Development Center, Smart Start, Kansas Children's Service League Head Start, Spirit of the Plains CASA, United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas, American Red Cross, Catholic Social Service, Family Crisis Services Inc., Meals on Wheels, Miles of Smiles Therapeutic Riding Program, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association, Garden City Family YMCA, Finney County RSVP and the Garden City Recreation Commission.
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