Monday, May 12, 2025
5/12/2025
Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program - a. Eligible Entity Type: Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health center is a Federally qualified health center, as defined in section 1905(l)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396d(l)(2)(B)]. It will operate the residency program alone. b. Project Director Contact Information: Kathryn Rothas, DDS, MPH, Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center, Inc., 920 Lark Drive, Albany, NY 12207; 518-465-4771; krothas@wmyhealth.org c. Residency Type: A one-year dental General Practice Residency is proposed. d. Funding Preference: Funding preference is requested based on an existing affiliation agreement with Hudson Mohawk AHEC. e. Population Target Area: The Residency Program will improve access to dental care for low-income, underserved urban and rural populations in New York’s Capital District, with an emphasis on Albany and Rensselaer counties. f. Funding Amount Requested: $500,000 g. Projected Number of Residents: 3 in the first year of the program, 5 by the third year h. CODA Accreditation by 8/31/2024 and Residency Matriculation by 7/1/2025 Funding under the Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program will support the establishment of a community-based dental residency program following the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) guidelines for a General Practice Residency (GPR) program at Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center (WYH), a Joint Commission Accredited Federally Qualified Health Center. The project will help alleviate a dental provider shortage in New York’s Capital Region that exacerbates health disparities experienced by low-income populations, particularly those served by safety-net facilities. WYH operates dental clinics in communities with high concentrations of low income and People of Color populations. Access to dental services in the region is impacted by both an overall lack of dentists and a lack of dentists who accept Medicaid. With a highest priority HPSA score, as of June 2023 WYH will be only one of two dental practices in the Capital Region that accepts any significant number of adult Medicaid patients, and the only clinic that accepts patients from all counties in the Capital Region. Over 61% of WYH’s dental patients rely on Medicaid and 14% have no dental insurance. Contributing to this deficit has been the reduction in dental residency programs and lack of dental schools in the area. WYH, led by the Project Director, will work with its partners, Healthy Capital District, Albany County Department of Health, St. Peter's Hospital and Mohawk Hudson AHEC to develop the curriculum, recruit faculty, identify clinical sites, and recruit dental residents to meet the CODA accreditation standards. Because of its existing relationship with Mohawk Hudson AHEC, WYH has requested funding preference under the THCPD Program. The WYH Dental Residency Program will enroll a minimum of 3 residents in the first year and progress to 5 residents by the thrid year, with an emphasis on recruiting candidates who will remain in the region and are committed to providing services to underserved urban and rural communities. Preference will be given to students whose undergraduate and graduate studies and activities reflect an interest in public health or safety-net services for low-income individuals, especially those who have completed coursework that acknowledges the impact of the social determinants of health. Recruitment and retention strategies will highlight the availability of loan forgiveness programs for dentists who commit to working at qualified safety-net sites like WYH.
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).