Monday, May 12, 2025
5/12/2025
Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program - The purpose of this project is to establish a new community-based general dentistry residency program that is accredited by the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) and has a strong sustainability plan. Little River Medical Center (LRMC) will train dentists to practice in and meet the clinical needs of underserved populations with clinical rotations at two fixed clinics and mobile dental clinics serving Horry County schools. LRMC will enhance the residency experience by providing oral health interprofessional training alongside its vertical integrated healthcare providers including but limited to pharmacists, behavioral health specialists, primary care providers, school nurses, and social workers. The LRMC residency experience will also provide unique access to populations with historical oral health inequities such as rural children, people living in homelessness and with HIV/AIDS. LRMC commits to providing precepting experiences with a full array of specialists to residents, just as they would in a traditional dental school setting. The LRMC service area includes Horry and Georgetown Counties in South Carolina and Brunswick County in North Carolina. LRMC’s principle partner is the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). MUSC has agreed to assist LRMC with several key aspects of the residency program. MUSC is the only dental school in South Carolina and is responsible for ensuring an adequate supply of dentists to serve the state. They have 296 dental students and annually receive over 1,200 applications for a class size of 75. They offer six residency programs that accept 41 residents in various specialties. MUSC has structured training and care delivery programs uniquely aligned to address the needs of rural, safety net, special needs, and other underserved populations. Metrics of success include: 1. Establishment of a General Practice Residency designed to serve vulnerable, underserved communities. 2. Ability to provide interprofessional training specific to the needs of their community, which may include training with behavioral health professionals and health support workers, nutrition specialists, and pharmacists. 3. Ability to decrease health care disparities by identifying and immersing trainees in the care of special populations that will be served by the training program such as members of tribal communities, Veterans, people living with HIV, patients who are uninsured or underinsured, patients with substance use disorders, 4. Ability to address other known challenges specific to Teaching Health Center residency programs including, but not limited to, having sufficient specialty and subspecialty preceptors and ensuring residents will encounter a high enough volume of patients. 5. Development of a clearly defined, factual, and feasible sustainability plan that includes one or more ongoing funding stream(s) to sustain long-term resident training once the program is established through the following options: Sustainability plans may include public support (such as federal and state support) and private support.
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).