State-of-the-art dental clinic part of holistic approach to achieving mission for Jewish Family & Career Services
by Robert Summers, for Jewish Family & Career Services
View or print article PDF.
The dentists who volunteer at Atlanta’s Ben Massell Dental Clinic (BMDC) put in a lot of hours. In fact, if you add up all the free hours of dental care they’ve provided to the community’s uninsured, working poor, and indigent residents since the clinic opened in 1911, it adds up to more than 1,800 years of service. It’s an astonishing figure, but it’s only one of many incredible facts about this unique facility that, since 1959, has been operated by Alliance for Children and Families member Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS).
Gary Miller, CEO at JF&CS, reels off statistics about BMDC with unrestrained enthusiasm. “There are many fine dental clinics in the United States, but the Ben Massell clinic is unique in that it is not only free, but comprehensive. We go beyond dental care. We treat the whole person.”
A social worker and a psychologist work in the clinic daily, providing services to those who may come in for a tooth ache, but who can have much more complex medical and daily living challenges. Together, these professionals see more than 100 clients every week.
“The Ben Massell Dental Clinic is consistent with our overall mission to give individuals the best opportunity possible to improve their own lives,” Miller says. “Without appropriate dental care, people are unable to get that job they desperately need, they cannot provide for their family in the best way possible, and the impact on self-esteem is dramatic.”
It’s a holistic philosophy that dates back to the clinic’s founding. Dentistry was only a portion of the services originally offered by the clinic’s founders, a group of medical professionals who saw the clinic as their way of giving back to the community.
Nearly 100 years later, the community returned the favor. Rather than seeing the clinic fade away along with its crumbling facility and outdated medical equipment, the community responded by surpassing a capital campaign fundraising goal by nearly $2 million.
New Facility Increases Ability to Serve
As demand for dental care increased, especially between 1956 and 2008, it became apparent that unless the crumbling clinic relocated or modernized, this unique free dental clinic would have to close.
In 2008, a capital campaign was organized by JF&CS to raise $3.8 million that would fund moving the clinic to midtown Atlanta, a location convenient for both dentists and clients; the construction of a new facility; and the purchasing of the most modern dentistry equipment available.
Ultimately the capital campaign raised $5.5 million, heightened JF&CS’ profile, and helped to clarify the organization’s mission in the minds of community members and funders.
“The Ben Massell Dental Clinic has literally introduced us to more than 20 new foundations that wouldn’t have previously considered our organization based on the perception that we serve on a faith-based criteria,” Miller says. “Of course our organization is nonsectarian, but the Ben Massell Dental Clinic has made our agency visible to new audiences locally and regionally because of the attention given to our new facility.”
Miller adds, “As the campaign progressed, the fundraising momentum snowballed as corporations, vendors, dental associations, Jewish donors, foundations, and others got behind the push for a new, state-of-the-art facility.”
Millions of dollars in dental equipment was donated or sold at a fraction of the cost. Architectural services were donated, and the building became the only dental facility in North America to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, the highest benchmark for green building.
“There is no clinic of this size, of this magnitude, of this quality, and of this physical structure in the United States,” Dr. David Zelby, the dental clinic’s chief of staff, says. “We’re hoping this will be a beacon for all to see.”
As a result of the capital project, the capacity to deliver services increased dramatically. After the new clinic opened in October 2008, the number of procedures performed increased by 25 percent. At the former facility, dentists were seeing more than 6,000 patients each year; projections for 2009 call for more than 8,000 patients and 20,000 separate procedures.
The new building’s technologies also allow for administrative efficiency and environmental friendliness. The entire office will be paperless, and all X-rays are digital.
Primary Care is Only Step One
Because BMDC is so well-known in the greater Atlanta area, JF&CS has little need to promote the clinic’s services, Miller says. BMDC is also well-connected to a number of human service agency referral networks, which is how most new clients find the clinic.
To qualify for care, patients must be uninsured, prove they have lived in the greater Atlanta area for at least six months, and show they are financially eligible based on specified monthly and annual income limitations. No fees are required to receive services, but donations between $2 and $10 are suggested, depending on the service rendered. (View eligibility requirements.)
In addition to addressing immediate dental health problem areas, dental hygienists provide oral health education while dentists help clients establish individualized treatment plans to follow at home. Patients are also required to return to the clinic every three to six months for cleanings and checkups.
“Every patient is instructed on how to maintain their oral health,” says Elizabeth Davis, a hygienist who has worked at BMDC for six years. “Some of the patients don’t have the resources to buy toothbrushes, toothpaste, or floss. In these cases, we provide them free-of-charge.”
Dentists and hygienists rotate throughout the clinic’s 15 operatories and two hygiene rooms, which emphasize patient comfort. Each is spacious and private. Patients receiving teeth cleanings—around 2,000 cleanings are preformed each year—sit in chairs that gently massage them into a relaxed state.
In addition to routine checkups, cleanings, and preventive care, clients have access to a wide variety of dental specialists, including orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, and prostodontists. BMDC is the only clinic of its kind that provides dentures (prostodonture) to its clients.
Yet, providing primary and preventive dental care is only the first step in the treatment package clients receive. For example, patients can also schedule vision exams, which are provided by Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation.
“While many people do not realize it, dental examinations can reveal health issues beyond toothaches,” says Yadira Cardona, an oral surgeon at the clinic. “Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases can all be detected during oral exams and addressed.”
To address these health issues, as well as mental health and social service needs, in 2009 the clinic brought on a social worker and a psychologist, who both work on site.
This new element is what makes the care at BMDC truly comprehensive. Clients are offered what social worker Joseph Smith calls “one-stop shopping.” Through Smith and his associate, Sonny Magill, clients can more easily get referrals to a variety of services and organizations. While some of these referrals are within JF&CS, the clinic also has more than 95 community partners to which clients are referred on a regular basis.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
“Once a client comes to the clinic there is a lot we can do for them,” Smith says. “We can help them with the basics—food, shelter, and clothing—plus we can assist them in applying for social security benefits, arranging for medical checkups, and finding emergency assistance. We are constantly asking ourselves, ‘What else can we do to help our clients?’”
A Truly Volunteer Effort
Most procedures performed at the clinic are done by one or more of the 126 volunteer dentists. To keep up with demand for service, in 2009 JF&CS leaders hope to recruit 75 additional dentists from throughout the 22 counties that comprise the greater Atlanta area.
Many new volunteer dentists are recruited by current volunteers. One attraction is the opportunity for dental professionals to work with the most advanced medical equipment they may have ever laid their fingers on.
“Over the years, as volunteers have come on board, many of them have come up to me afterwards and thanked me,” Zelby says. “Normally you would think I would thank them, but the joy and happiness that we get in rendering the service to a group of people in this community who are so appreciative and so thankful for our presence is immeasurable in words. There’s no donation you can make monetarily to compensate or equal that feeling that these individuals give you.”
The clinic also serves as a hands-on training facility for dental students from the Medical College of Georgia. Four students commit to two-week rotations for the full year. Students are supervised by adjunct professors, 33 of whom are Ben Massell Dental Clinic volunteers.
An Effort that Begins with Dentists
Can the success of BMDC be duplicated? Miller insists that it can be—and should be.
“The Ben Massell Dental Clinic is a model that should be encouraged nationally, and any attention that we receive for realizing the vision of this new clinic should serve to encourage other communities to recognize the impact of inspiring a few good volunteers to have the courage to embark on such a rewarding endeavor,” he says. “We would welcome the opportunity to provide encouragement.”
Miller says an effort of this kind must begin with local dentists. “If you can organize the dental community to take on the commitment and adopt the enterprise as its own, it’s doable, but you need to do the groundwork too.”
This includes a professional feasibility study to determine whether the community will support a clinic, as well as a committed board of directors that can open doors to the foundations and corporations that will fund this kind of project. It also requires significant discussions with vendors and manufacturers of dental equipment.
“Once you begin, your efforts will build their own momentum and excitement,” Miller says. “It’s like tossing a pebble in the water; it creates concentric circles that reach further and further out. In this case that means reaching more and more people and getting them energized.”
Learn more about the Ben Massell Dental Clinic at the clinic's website.
Printer-friendly version
