Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program - Southern California Medical Center (SCMC), a federally qualified health center as defined in section 1905(I)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396d(I)(2)(B), seeks to create a community-based dental resident training program for dentists that prepares them to practice in underserved communities. SCMC will operate the residency program through two locations as a stand alone program and not part of a GME consortium. Project Director: Steven Sanzo, ssanzo@scmedctr.org, in collaboration with Arlet Arratoonian, DDS 818.650.6700, 14550 Haynes Street, Van Nuys, CA 91411 Residency Type: General Dentistry(Community-Based) Population Target Area(s) El Monte and Long Beach, California. Both clinics are located in underserved, impoverished communities with high levels of homelessness, unemployment and working poor families. Funding request: $500,000 for two years Projected number of resident positions: three CODA accreditation and resident matriculation expected Spring 2025. SCMC provides comprehensive healthcare, including dental, at five clinics in underserved communities throughout Los Angeles. Community residents are impoverished, new immigrants, highly diverse, lack health insurance and working poor. SCMC experienced a 438% increase in dental care over the last three years, with patients presenting with complex emergency, critical, dental needs. The crisis was further complicated by a shortage of dentists practicing in underserved communities, and a lack of residency programs training dentists to treat complex cases in underserved communities. SCMC expanded clinic capacity and hired additional providers, but seeks to ensure more dentists are available to treat the increasingly complex needs and health disparities facing underserved communities. We seek to transition all SCMC patients to preventative care, and prevent emergency room visits and infections from patients not seeking or receiving care. SCMC will complete the residency program and begin matriculation of residents March 31, 2025. SCMC deepened their partnership with AHEC Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) to sign a contract to complete CODA accreditation by February 28, 2025. SCMC will create the residency curriculum by December 31, 2024 engaging with the HRSA TA and other experts for support. SCMC will create a separate fund with five years of expenses to ensure the sustainability of the resident training program. SCMC has the infrastructure, stability, staff, medical protocols, physical space, leadership, patient population and community partnerships needed to successfully create and operate the residency program. SCMC has prepared to create this program by contracting with CCALAC for CODA accreditation, reviewing the CODA guidelines and timeline, establishing necessary skills, credentials and experience of faculty, reached out to existing residency programs in Los Angeles and elsewhere to plan the process and create partnerships that may help with resident matriculation and creating the curriculum, among numerous other steps. Existing staff and executive team at SCMC is committed to creating and implementing this dental residency program in the community health clinic setting for many years. We offer residents co-professional training in other clinic areas of primary care, mental health, addiction and HIV. Residents will be mentored by residency program faculty for five years postgraduate. Residents will learn to use EHR and other technology for efficiency and improved patient care. Most importantly, residents will learn how to complex cases that are common in underserved communities with limited needs for specialty referrals, while providing excellent patient care and outcomes. SCMC will help residents find jobs postgraduate, receive forgiveness for student loans, learn to reduce healthcare disparities and practice culturally competent care & have the option of working in underserved communities even part-time.
