Saturday, April 5, 2025
4/5/2025
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - Project Abstract Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. 20280 Market St. Onancock VA 23417 Occohannock Elementary School Dental Project 4208 Seaside Road, Exmore, VA 23350 Project Director (Grant): Amy G. Bull 757-414-0400, ext. 1122 (phone) ? 757-414-0569 (fax) ? abull@esrh.org ? esrh.org Appropriations Request: $159,000 The Occohannock Elementary School Dental request is for a limited scope renovation and capital equipment purchases, under the HRSA Health Facilities Construction and Equipment program, for a school-based dental facility providing preventive and restorative care. Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. (ESRHS) partnered with Northampton County Public Schools (NCPS) to establish a comprehensive, school based dental program in 2021. The first NCPS dental unit at Kiptopeke Elementary, which offers preventive and restorative care, saw its first patient on Sept. 19, 2022. ESRHS opened the second NCPS dental unit at Occohannock Elementary in fall 2023 in a temporary site within the school building, and offers preventive care only using our traveling program equipment. This project will allow for a permanent facility offering both preventive and restorative care. Care and oral health education will be provided by one dentist, two dental assistants and a business assistant. This dental team will focus on children who previously did have not a dental home and/or those with untreated dental disease and provide an ongoing dental home for all other children. This project will: 1. Continue to chip away at the shortage of dental visits on the Shore. The Shore is a Designated Dental Care Health Professional Shortage Area. ESRHS’ most recent dental needs analysis shows that the region needs 66,212 more dental visits than are available. Only 55% of the region’s need is being met. 2. Serve children in need. Most NCPS students are economically disadvantaged, face challenges to getting to the dentist, and therefore do not have a dental home. The target population of this project is the 2,420 children* living in Northampton County (1,600 attend NCPS of which 70% are minorities and 75.4% are economically disadvantaged)**.*US Census, **U.S. News and World Report. 3. Improve oral health and school performance. Poverty, inadequate health care, nutrition, safe water, housing and environmental pollution are all challenges to children having an equitable start in school. This model provides a safety net for high risk kids not able to seek care at a medical center. We leverage our financial resources by participating with all insurers, including Medicaid, and offer a discount program for patients below 200% of poverty and uninsured.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).