Press Releases

Catalyst Institute Partners with Florida Foundation to Expand and Access Oral Health Services -- 10/15/2008

The Catalyst Institute and Health Foundation of South Florida are partnering on a program designed to increase access to oral health services for underserved populations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. A grant was awarded to the Catalyst Institute’s Safety Net Solutions™ program as part of Health Foundation’s commitment to allocate $7 million for a 5-year major oral health initiative.

According to Health Foundation President & CEO Steven E. Marcus, Ed.D, “Since oral health is a vital component of overall health, the Foundation has made increasing access to oral health services for the underserved and uninsured a priority funding area. He added, “Through Safety Net Solutions, multiple health centers will receive support with strategies for clinical and operational management designed to enhance financial sustainability, quality clinical care and increase patient care through expansion of services.”

The clinics include: Community Smiles, a community health center staffed by volunteers; Care Resource, a community-based AIDS service organization; Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center, which serves underinsured and uninsured disabled and chronically ill persons; and the federally qualified health centers Borinquen Health Care Center, Community Health of South Florida and Jessie Trice Community Health Center.

“We are thrilled to partner with Health Foundation of South Florida on strengthening the dental programs that meet the oral health needs of the uninsured and those on Medicaid,” said Project Director Mark Doherty, DMD, MPH, CCHP. “In today’s challenging reimbursement environment, most safety net dental programs struggle to achieve sustainability. There is no question that safety net dental programs provide high-quality clinical care to our nation’s most vulnerable residents.”

About the Catalyst Institute:
The Catalyst Institute (www.catalystinstitute.org), based in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a non-profit organization supporting individuals and institutions that rely on data to make decisions that promote quality oral health care and improvements to oral health. It works closely with dental health practitioners, funders, private and public benefit providers and policy makers to transform oral health. The Catalyst Institute is a member of the DSM family of oral health companies which include Atlantic Dental, Inc., a dental benefits administrator in Florida, Doral Dental, one of the largest administrators of government dental programs, and DentaQuest, which administers commercial dental plans in several states. The DSM family of oral health companies administers dental benefits for over 12.8 million people in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

About Health Foundation of South Florida:
Health Foundation of South Florida strengthens our region to be a beacon of innovative and effective multicultural approaches to health promotion and health care. As a grant making foundation, its mission is to improve health outcomes and quality community based programs for underserved individuals in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties by focusing on various initiatives and programs including healthy aging and healthy lifestyles, preventive measures and primary care. Since 1993, the Foundation awarded more than $78 million in grants and direct program support. For more information, please call 305.374.7200 or visit the Web site, www.hfsf.org.

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