 Portsmouth, NH — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern New England has awarded $15,000 to the Dental Center at Families First Health &
Support Center. The money will allow Families First to increase capacity and availability of services by adding Saturday morning clinics
without cutting back weekday hours.
“The Saturday clinics allow children to receive dental care without missing school and without their parents having to miss work,” says
Families First Executive Director Helen Taft. Families First’s new full-time dentist, Eric Katzman, DMD, will be staffing the clinics; dental
hygiene appointments will also be available.
Another part of the RMHC grant will go toward integrating dental care with the well-child and prenatal health care programs at Families
First, including referring all children to the dentist for their first checkup before their first birthday, as recommended by the American
Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
“In the long term, preventive services such as hygiene care, fluoride treatments and sealant application, as well as prompt attention to
problems such as infection and dental caries, will help low-income children stand a better chance than their parents may have had of keeping
their teeth their whole lives,” says Taft.
Families First projects that its Dental Center will serve approximately 550 children and 830 adults this year, providing preventive,
restorative and emergency dental care and oral health education and care coordination. The Dental Center is open to all children and teens
living in New Hampshire who have NH Healthy Kids Gold insurance, or who are uninsured and without a regular dentist, as well as children
enrolled in York County Head Start. Adults can use the center if they are established patients at Families First Health Center or are
referred by selected organizations serving special-needs adults.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern New England is proud to provide this grant to Families First,” says Edie Stevenson, Executive
Director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern New England. “It is through the generous support of McDonald’s customers and local
Owner/Operators that we are able to help local children in need.”
About Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern New England
Since it began in 1986, RMHC of Eastern New England has awarded over $16 million to more than 1,000 non-profit organizations and programs
helping thousands of children and families. Generous donations from local McDonald’s Owner/Operators, McDonald’s customers, and other
individuals and corporations enable RMHC of Eastern New England to provide this continuous support. Grants also support the Ronald McDonald
Care Mobiles in Worcester and Rhode Island, and the Ronald McDonald Houses in Boston and Providence, which provide a home away from home for
the families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals.
About Families First
Families First Health and Support Center, the Seacoast’s community health center, provides a broad range of health and family support
services to individuals and families, regardless of ability to pay. Services include primary, prenatal and oral health care; parenting
classes, parent support groups and family programs; home visiting for families facing special challenges; and mobile health care for people
who are homeless. For more information, call 603-422-8208, or visit www.FamiliesFirstSeacoast.org. |
