SEATTLE – Tribal dental clinics across the North Olympic Peninsula were among those to receive grants to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Arcora Foundation awarded $1,085,000 in grants to 17 Washington state tribal clinics.
Each received about $70,000 to purchase additional personal protection equipment (PPE) and other safety paraphernalia, make capital improvements to protect staff and patients, train staff and to buy teledentistry equipment and additional minimally invasive dentistry supplies.
Peninsula beneficiaries are the Jamestown S’Klallam’s Jamestown Family Dental Clinic in Sequim, The Lower Elwha S’Klallam’s Lower Elwha Dental Clinic in Port Angeles, the Makah’s Sophie Trettevick Indian Health Center in Neah Bay and the Quinault Indian Nation’s Roger Saux Health Center in Taholah.
“We can’t stress it enough – oral health is essential to overall health, and that remains true during this pandemic,” said Vanetta Abdellatif, Arcora Foundation president and CEO, in a press release.
“Gum disease is linked to heart disease, diabetes complications and respiratory illnesses, which are major risk factors for COVID-19. Oral disease also is linked to stroke and pregnancy complications. Making sure people have access to oral health care is an equity issue and remains critically important.”
Dental programs were hit especially hard by the onset of the pandemic, with stay-at-home orders and other requirements first limiting patient visits, the press release said.
Clinics were required to suspend all non-emergency care for two months. They were allowed to reopen in June but under strict restrictions.
The need for social distancing, challenges with rehiring staff and other issues have limited the number of patient visits, while the costs of PPE and other equipment and materials to ensure safety have imposed additional unforeseen costs, the foundation said.
Arcora Foundation, a state nonprofit, is funded by not-for-profit Delta Dental of Washington (DDW).
In addition to the grants to tribes, Arcora Foundation and Delta Dental of Washington have given $3 million in grants to community health centers and nonprofit dental centers, and it has provided more than $350,000 for community foundations, hunger relief organizations and local nonprofits providing food and services to families, seniors and vulnerable populations, the press release said.
The two also provided $23 million to DDW member dentists across the state to offset losses, help retain staff and acquire needed equipment.
“Lower-income people in Washington experience significant health disparities, and the disparities are even more substantial among black, indigenous and other people of color,” the foundation said.
“Many of the tribes receiving grants are in rural areas and may be the only place to get care and operate in challenging financial circumstances with small margins and large percentages of low-income and indigent patients.”
Other tribes receiving grants were the Port Gamble S’Klallam, Kalispel, Lummi, Puyallup, Swinomish, Tulalip, Muckleshoot, Chehalis, Squaxin Island, Nooksack, Nisqually, Colville and Shoalwater Bay.
“The grant money will enable clinics to focus as much of their resources as possible specifically on patient care,” said Joe Finkbonner, a member of the Arcora Board of Trustees and the Lummi Tribe.“That’s important, because with the long closure and continuing limitation on the number of patients that can be seen at any one time, there will continue to be a significant backlog of people who need to get in for dental care.”
Said Ticey Mason, director of the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center and a Siletz tribal member: “During this pandemic, we have all learned to smile with our eyes, but let’s not forget about the smile under that mask.
“We are grateful for Arcora Foundation’s support … . We are strong and resilient people, and perseverance is in our DNA. We have survived pandemics in the past, and we will survive this one too.”
