$50K grant will expand School of Dental Medicine care in Brunswick County
A $50,000 grant from the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation will help people with financial challenges receive urgent and restorative dental care at the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine’s community service learning center in Brunswick County.
A grant from the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation will help patients with financial need receive care at the CSLC-Brunswick County.
The center is one of eight community service learning centers in rural and underserved areas of North Carolina where faculty, students, residents, and staff treat patients every weekday. Since the center opened in March 2016, it has seen close to 4,600 patients. Many are referred by the local hospital or by various county health departments, and often have difficulty paying for treatment. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brunswick County clinic has experienced twice as many patients who say they cannot afford to pay for services.
The School of Dental Medicine will use the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation grant to add to its current Patient Care Funds program, which is designed to help with costs of all procedures from a simple filling to a set of dentures. Urgent and restorative procedures can alleviate pain, restore teeth and improve patients’ smiles and overall health.
“This generous grant from the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation positions the ECU School of Dental Medicine to maximize its partnerships with county health departments and community agencies to improve oral health care access for all who need it,” said Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the ECU dental school. “It will open doors to access for the people of southeastern North Carolina and will enable more patients with financial challenges to receive urgent dental care and restorative procedures that lead to better overall health.”
A $50,000 grant from the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation will help people with financial challenges receive urgent and restorative dental care at the CSLC-Brunswick County.
In addition to Brunswick County, the school anticipates serving patients from surrounding counties including Columbus, New Hanover and Pender. The center’s work aligns with the mission of the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation, whose primary purpose is to serve the health and medical needs of the people of southeastern North Carolina. The Wilmington-based foundation supports not-for-profit organizations providing health and medical services and health education.
“We view this grant as an opportunity to benefit both the residents of our area and the students of ECU’s dental school,” Cape Fear Memorial Foundation president Anna Erwin said. “It is our hope that the patient assistance funds improve both the dental health of the public and the appeal of rural dental practice to the students.”
After providing care to emergency cases early on during the pandemic, the School of Dental Medicine is once again open to all patients. In the Brunswick County clinic, as well as all of the school’s clinics throughout the state, an increased number of patients continue to be impacted negatively by the crisis. It is expected that many more patients will need dental treatment for overall health than ever before.