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LACOLLINE DENTAL PROGRAM
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The Lacolline Dental Program is a partnership formed in
early 2007 between HHCF's Lascahobas Coalition
and Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante (PIH/ZL).
This initiative arose from the recognition of a total
absence of professional dental care in an area between
Lascahobas and Lacolline that has over 70,000 inhabitants.
The consequences of this deficiency were noted daily by
the medical staff of the ZL Lascahobas Clinic where neglected
dental problems as advanced periodontal disease and dental
abscesses led to local and systemic infections with significant
morbidity and even mortality. These dire realizations
led to the above partnership with the objective to introduce
a comprehensive program of dental care services, education
and preventive hygiene into the Lacolline and Lascahobas
catchments area.
The Lacolline Dental Clinic from which the program will
be directed is currently under construction as a free
standing facility on the grounds of the newly dedicated
and operating Lacolline Medical Clinic. Scheduled for
completion in early 2008 it is estimated that it will
provide dental care to 12,000 patients a year, 60% directly
in the clinic and the remaining 40% in outpatient community
wellness programs operating in surrounding schools, parishes
and community centers. The clinic will house clinical
and administrative spaces, two fully equipped dental offices,
X-ray and storage facilities. Manning the clinic will
be a full time Haitian dentist, two dental assistants,
a full time dental social resident and support staff.
Community care will be accomplished with a network of
trained community health educators, Noyeau Educatif
Communitaires (NECs), maintained by PIH. In addition
there are plans in development for supplementation of
on-site dental care with visiting dental teams from the
United States. The "Dentists for Haiti" program,
an initiative of the HHCF Lascahobas Coalition, will focus
on educating dentists about the dental care needs in Haiti,
recruiting dentists of future mission trips, solicit technical
and financial support and provide a resource for donated
equipment.
The first year budget for the program is $137,400 of which
over $62,000 has been raised to date in the form of financial
contributions and donated equipment. The projected annual
operating budget is projected at $81,000 dollars. Development
of this funding is being coordinated with HHCF Lascahobas
Coalition with designated funds from HHCF fundraising
efforts. The coalition is also working on recruiting other
sources, private and commercial, to support these efforts.
For more detailed information on the Lacolline Dental
Project or questions on how you can help in this cause
please visit the interactive forum on this site dedicated
to the project.
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