Download 2015 Annual Report

96th Anniversary
Des Moines Health Center, Inc.
Annual Report
July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015
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THE DES MOINES HEALTH CENTER
A BRIEF HISTORY
Prior to 1919, there were several clinics scattered around the city of Des Moines - a Women's and Children's
Clinic, a Dental Clinic, an Infant Welfare Clinic, a Tuberculosis Clinic, etc.
To bring about a more concentrated effort along this line of work, a group of interested individuals conceived
the idea of combining all these scattered clinics into one centralized group.
In the spring of 1919 a group of civic minded citizens met to draw up the plans which resulted in the formation
of the Des Moines Health Association. This association was established at an organizational meeting held on
Friday April 4, 1919.
Their efforts resulted in the establishment of the Des Moines Health Center on September 1, 1919.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the following organizations and companies who have provided
funding, services, or partnerships in support of our programs over the past year. We could not
be successful without their support and partnerships, and we truly appreciative of the role they
have taken with our organization.
United Way of Central Iowa
Mid-Iowa Health Foundation
Professional Solutions Insurance Co.
Principal Financial Group Foundation
Polk County Early Childhood Iowa
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino
United Way Women’s Leadership Connection
Des Moines Public Schools
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DES MOINES HEALTH CENTER, INC.
AGENCY DESCRIPTION
The Des Moines Health Center established in 1919, is a private, not for profit, community health center. The
Center maintains a dental clinic to provide comprehensive general and pediatric dental services to families in
Central Iowa. The clinic specifically serves families who live in Polk, Dallas, or Warren Counties or those who
work in Polk County. Services are provided to families and individuals on a sliding fee basis according to their
ability to pay. The Health Center is a member agency of the United Way of Central Iowa. In addition to the
clinic, Des Moines Health Center operates the Smile Squad, a school based oral health program in area preschools and schools via 3 oral health initiatives.
AGENCY MISSION
The mission of the Des Moines Health Center is to reduce oral health disparities in central Iowa. To accomplish
this mission, the Center maintains a dental clinic providing general and pediatric dental care to families and
individuals from central Iowa and a focus on community needs through the clinic and Smile Squad services.
CLINICAL SERVICES
1. Clinical Services – Dental Clinic
Provides a full range of comprehensive general and pediatric dental care including: emergency treatment (relief
of pain), examination (including radiographs, panolipse x-ray, and diagnostic casts as indicated) diagnosis,
prophylaxis, fluoride treatment, extractions, sealants, necessary immediate restorative procedures, complete
restorative procedures, preventive orthodontics (including space maintainers, orthodontic extractions, and
retainers), pulpotomy, endodontic procedures (root canals), removable prosthesis, periodontal procedures,
medications as prescribed by the dentist. The center employs dentists to provide patient care.
2. Smile Squad Oral Health Program
Our Smile Squad Program, established in 1987, is a school based oral health program comprised of several
different oral health initiatives. More recently, this program has grown in the capability of services offered and
is currently operating under three specific initiatives. The first is called the Healthy Smiles Project which
provides oral health education, screenings, and referral to children in elementary schools in five school districts
in Polk and Dallas County; the second initiative, established in 2001, is our Little Healthy Smiles Project, a
prevention program providing oral health education, screenings, and referral for dental care and fluoride
varnishes to preschool age children at HeadStart and pre-school sites in Polk County. The 3rd initiative is the
Mobile Dental Clinic, which provides dental treatment utilizing a mobile dental clinic RV at selected sites.
Program Goals
1. To reduce dental diseases in children.
2. To promote awareness of the importance of teeth and overall health of children.
3. To help children understand the nature of dental diseases, their causes, and effect.
4. To teach children self-help skills to be responsible for their own oral health.
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5. To identify and refer to a dentist for treatment, low income children in need of dental care.
6. To prevent tooth decay in children from low income families through dental sealants.
7. To reduce untreated caries in children.
Healthy Smiles Project (established 1987)
This program educates children in self-help skills to maintain their own oral health, identifies children in need of
dental care, and refers these children to their dentist or to our clinic to receive treatment services for the
problems identified. The program has been designed to educate and screen all children in the selected grades
(2nd and 3rd) and follows the same protocols for mass screenings provided in the schools. This provides us a
greater opportunity to identify children in need of dental care who may not otherwise have the opportunity to
receive a screening or examination by a dental professional.
Specifically the following program services are provided by a Registered Dental Hygienist:

Group oral health education to children within the classroom setting.

A brochure with toothbrushing tips, wise food choices, and facts about dental disease.

Oral health screenings

Oral health screening report to parent with recommended follow up by a dentist if needed.

Follow up on children identified with immediate oral health treatment needs.
Little Healthy Smiles Project (established 2001)
Little Healthy Smiles is an oral health prevention program providing oral health education, screenings, and a
topical fluoride varnish to pre-school age children. Fluoride varnishes may have a particular benefit for children
with a history of poor oral hygiene or are at risk for caries (cavities). This project serves children in both preschool and HeadStart programs. The project provides services twice per school year at each participating site.
Smile Squad Mobile Dental Clinic (established 2003)
This is a dental treatment project utilizing a mobile dental clinic RV program providing dental treatment services
including diagnostic examinations, x-rays, fillings, crowns, extractions, pulpotomies, and preventive services.
Services are provided in a fully equipped two-chair mobile dental clinic RV. The program targets low-income
school sites, which are selected based on the free or reduced lunch enrollment rate of forty percent or higher.
The program uses a combination of paid staff and volunteer dentists to provide patient care. The program
added a 2nd mobile dental clinic in the spring of 2008 to provide services.
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DES MOINES HEALTH CENTER, INC.
Board of Directors and Staff
2014 - 2015
Board of Directors
Craig Maltby, Planning and Writing, LLC – Chair
Kim Bradwell, Pioneer Hi-Bred – Past Chair
Mike Hipp, DDS – Chair Elect
Geoff Gade, West Bank
Dennis Peterson, Merit Resources
Robert McNurlen, DDS
Chaney Yeast, Blank Children’s Hospital
Staff
Administration:
Erica Nuss – Executive Director
Barb Hildebrandt – Office Manager
Courtney Flynn – Administrative Assistant
Clerical Staff:
Luisa Cruz – Receptionist
Teri Meendering – Receptionist
Alicia Garcia – Receptionist
Dentists:
Jaspreet Choudhary – Dental Director
Ryan Riley, DDS
Peter Blough, DDS
Dental Hygienists:
Katie Mumm, RDH
Suzanne Current, RDH
Angie Friedmann, RDH
Dental Assistants:
Jenny Hen
Meliah Rich
Ednita Paz-Villavicensio
Alondra Tapia
Yasmine Villegas
Smile Squad Team:
Courtney Wolterman – Program Director
Sarah Renihan – Dental Assistant
Beth Wiedmann – Dental Assistant
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Dental Clinic
Dental Clinic Visits
13,826
Dental Clinic Individual Users
5,669
Emergency Visits
565
Smile Squad
Healthy Smiles Project
 Schools (unduplicated) = 28
Little Healthy Smiles
 Classroom Presentations = 192
 Sites (unduplicated) = 38
 Screenings Completed = 3,913
(2nd Grade) 2,111
(3rd Grade) 1,802
 Classroom Presentations = 326
 Screenings Completed = 3,095
 Fluoride Varnish Applications =
2,655
Mobile Dental Clinic
 Sites (unduplicated) = 45
 Children Served = 823
 Dental Services Provided = 2,203
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