October 30, 2006 Contact: Joanne McGunagle
For Immediate Release 467-9610
*** Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity ***
WARWICK – Mayor Scott Avedisian will join officials from Comprehensive Community action (CCAP), Westbay Community action, and Blue Cross & Blue Shields Blue Angels in a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new CCAP Warwick Dental Clinic. The event will be held Wednesday, November 1 at 9:30 a.m. at 226 Buttonwoods Avenue.
The new center, inside the Wilcox Family Health Center, will provide critical dental care to those who need it most – children, families and individuals living in poverty who do not have a dentist. An adjacent building will house a lab and offices.
Slated for opening in December, the Warwick site will have three dental operatories. In addition to on-site services, CCAP dentists and hygienists will be going into elementary schools and Head Start programs through its “Westbay Smiles” program. This program will provide good, accessible dental care to hundreds of children and adults, denying no one services based on their financial situation and will help to eliminate some of the common barriers to receiving dental care.
Westbay Community Action is providing 1,000 square feet for the facility. A total $148,000 in federal funds will help to finance the project, along with over $12,000 in contributive support from the City of Warwick; $75,00 from the RI Foundation to operate CCAP dental programs in Warwick and Cranston; and a $25,000 grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s Blue Angel program for equipment for the “Westbay Smiles” program. Ronald McDonald House Charities is providing a fully-equipped dental care mobile unit – the Molar Express – for the on-site visits, and the Warwick Public Schools and local Head Start programs are enthusiastic partners in this initiative.
“We are proud to be a part of this exciting new facility,” Avedisian said. “This is the last phase of bringing affordable health care to the residents of Warwick. The Rhode Island Department of Health has declared oral health as the state’s most pressing health care need, and we are proud to partner with these other agencies to bring this critical service to our citizens.”
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