Dental Outreach of Collier Inc. (DOC)

We expect that if accomplished the activities described will lead to the following changes in 7-10 years: Patients 1. Improved Oral Health for patients while enhancing Oral Health Awareness 2. Improved Overall Health 3. Improvements in self-esteem 4. Recipients will be more productive without the challenges associated with poor oral health. 5. Receive the “dental assistance/treatment” they require in their time of need and serve as a “bridge” to more permanent dentistry with a Private Dentist. Students 1. Increase knowledge through broader clinical exposure 2. More productive/effective Dental Assisting Student graduates who will certainly have more compassion and appreciation for the rewards of community service Community If benefits to participants are achieved, then certain changes in organizations, community, and or systems may occur. This may come in the form of a decrease in the “stress” on local emergency rooms by decreasing the uninsured dental emergency care.

Implementing Service-Learning

Our program provides a very unique opportunity for
service-learning for our students. Dental Assisting Students integrate what they learn in the classroom
with their clinical experience in working with underserved patients in their
own resident dental clinic. This allows
them to more fully engage in the educational process and use their technical
skills while learning to solve real-life problems for patients with real-life dental
needs. The students will have structured
time to reflect by thinking, discussing and writing about their service
experiences. The program is designed to
allow these highly-trained Dental Assisting Students to transition into
assisting positions in private Dental practices in our community. 

 

C. Evaluation Plan

Emphasis will be placed on development of an evaluation plan that will  include tracking indicators as well
as surveys of experiences by patients, students, volunteers
(Professional/non-professional alike). 

 Tracking (example indicators)

1. Demographic
tracking for new patients to include (age, sex, referral source, etc.)

2. Dental treatment
scope (dental needs)(per patient)

3. Student exposure
to specific aspects/procedures that will be performed in the clinic

4. Number of
referrals from local emergency rooms

 

Surveys

1. Patient
satisfaction (related to customer service, facilities, were phase I dental
needs met, etc.)

2. Dental Assisting
Students (related to scope of educational/civic-learning experience)

3. Volunteer
Professional Dental Providers (related to organization, scheduling, facility,
patient experience, suggestions)

  

D. Branding/Promotion

 

Our Branding/Promotion activities will center on the
following:

 

1.  Website
Development with focus on functionality for patients and referral sources as
well as encouraging our Community Partners to recognize the value of our
service to the underserved patients in Collier County
and support the program.

2. Sponsor
“friend-raiser” events to heighten community awareness and encourage support.

3. Schedule meetings
with leaders at the local and state levels (Councilpersons, Commissioners, and
State Legislators) to heighten their awareness, solicit their support, and
offer to use our “model program” for other communities throughout the state to
address the overwhelming “Access to care” issues we face.

 

E. Program Sustainability

There is a compelling reason to address the dental needs of
the underserved in Collier County,
Florida. We have motivated Volunteers (Dentists,
Hygienists, Students, Staff alike) who all have a stake in the success of the
program. The success of the program will
reduce the “stress” on the patients AND
the other organizations that now have to manage the emergencies and other
challenges associated with rampant oral health disease. The community will clearly see the benefit
and be more than willing to continue to support the program. 

 One of our biggest challenges continues to be funding. We continue to develop the program that can sustain itself, community support, organizational fund raisers, and grant funds.

 F. Program Development Activities

 Briefly the Program Development Activities include the
following:

             1. Dentists/Dental Specialists volunteering to
staff the clinic and treat patients as well as give lectures to the Dental
Assistant Students to supplement their curriculum.

            2. Continue to enlist the Dentists/Dental
Specialists assistance in providing constructive feedback related to student
preparedness, curriculum enhancement(s) as it relates to actual patient care,
etc.

           3.   Develop job descriptions for paid and
volunteer staff and work hard to match the right applicant with those job
descriptions for the most effective organization and program possible.

H. Community
Partner Input/Expertise

The Dental Outreach of Collier, Inc. Board of Directors is
the community partner in this project. We are very proud of the accomplishments, dedication, and expertise of
our board members. Along with our
Professional Dental Expertise shared by 4 of our board members who have run
successful private practices in our community for over a quarter century and
supported the local LWIT Dental Assisting Program, we have the collective
wisdom of a seasoned CPA and a Dentist/MBA who
have been actively involved with numerous non-profits their entire
careers. We have all been actively
involved with this project from its inception and are committed to seeing this
project through to becoming a more and more successful and sustainable operation.

Dental Outreach of Collier, Inc. (DOC) has successfully recruited a very strong core group of providers, have secured funding for our own Dental Management Software which is hosted on a dedicated server and accessible through a virtual private network to help manage the clinic/treatment planning and activities.  We have also established working relationships with other non-profits/church organizations who continue to support our program financially.  As we continue to have positive results with our patients and allow our community partners to see our progress and results, we have encouraged more support and participation by our local colleagues.  Increased awareness, support in the form of professional services and funding continues to allow our program to grow.What we lack is an administrative structure for helping manage the clinic, governance, and fundraising activities needed for continued growth and sustainability.