Editor's Note: As the Laboratory's 2005 United Way campaign continues through Nov. 24, the Daily Newsbulletin will periodically publish news stories about United Way provider agencies. This is the seventh in a series of profiles. For more information about this year's United Way campaign, go to http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/cr/unitedway/index.shtml online.
Dr. Aine Malone, left, and dental assistant Pauline Chacon fill a cavity for Andy Gurule of Rio del Oso at the El Rito dental clinic. Las Clinicas del Norte, which also has medical clinics in Abiquiu and Ojo Caliente, receive funding from the United Way. As of last Friday $469,211 has been raised in pledges and donations in this year's United Way giving campaign. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez, Public Affairs
Men, women and children from all over Northern New Mexico can now get their teeth cleaned, wisdom teeth extracted and even cosmetic dentistry at a state-of-the-art clinic in El Rito, thanks in part to funding provided by the United Way.
One of three locations of Las Clinicas del Norte, a nonprofit medical and dental care provider, the El Rito facility offers dental services five days a week in a spacious, modern building next door to the local elementary school. United Way pays half the salary of one of the two fulltime dentists on the clinic's staff. The clinic also employs two part-time dentists, a part-time dental hygienist, two part-time sterilizers and four fulltime dental assistants.
"We see families from all over," said Dental Program Manager Yolanda Varela. "At first, our patients were mostly from the rural areas around here, but now they come from Chama, Peñasco, Taos, even from Colorado. We are the only clinic for many miles that accepts Medicaid."
Fifteen percent of the clinic's patients pay full price for services. Forty-nine percent are Medicaid patients and the rest are low-income patients who are charged on a sliding-fee scale. Each dentist sees an average of 15 to 20 patients a day. The clinic recently expanded its services from four to five days a week and hopes to offer Saturday hours beginning sometime next year.
"We will probably be open every other Saturday at first," Varela said. "Our patient load has greatly increased over the years. We do all kinds of dentistry - preventative, cosmetic, caps, whitening. Our newest provider, Dr. Aine Malone, focuses on children. Some patients, like very young children or [individuals] needing implants, are referred to specialists in Santa Fe or Albuquerque."
The clinic also conducts outreach visits to schools in Northern New Mexico and has a contract with a nursing home in Española to conduct screenings.
"We are working to increase our efforts in the schools," Varela said. "There is a clear need in the community."
Clinic staff visit schools once a year in places like Gallina and Coyote, offering general education on dental care, tooth brushing instruction and check-ups. If problems are identified, notes are sent home to the students' parents or guardians, explaining the problem and detailing treatment options. The clinic staff also participates in health fairs in the region, setting up a booth and giving away toothbrushes, floss and advice. They also have a contract to provide preventative services to Headstart in Rio Arriba County.
"We also try to do outreach to students to recruit them into our field," Varela said. "The dental field has grown, but finding providers is always a problem for us, because they come and go. We are lucky to have providers now who are from the local area."
Dr. Anthony Garcia, whose family owns and operated Anthony's at the Delta in Española, currently works four days a week at La Clinica.
La Clinica's modern facility is decorated with paintings by local artists, some of which were traded for dental services. The building, put up in 1999, was designed with the help of the clinic's dental-supply company, which donates most of the clinic's outreach giveaways. State-of-the-art equipment at the clinic includes a digital panoramic X-ray machine, connected to the agency's computer system and its Dentrix software. The system not only keeps track of patients' dental history and work, it also sends out recall notices and collection letters and tracks no-show patients. The clinic is converting its computers to voice programming to allow providers more time with patients. Other equipment is also saving the staff time and money. A new autoclave for sterilization can do in three minutes what used to take an hour.
Dr. Malone grew up in a rural area in Texas where dental care was not locally available.
"My dad used to trade beef for us to get our dental work, " she said. "The dentist would come once a month to a county physician's office, and people stood and waited for hours until they got seen. This is so much easier."
Patients without appointments needing emergency care can come to La Clinica at 8:15 a.m. or 1:45 p.m. and the staff will work them in. Waiting times vary from 30 to 90 minutes.
--Kay Roybal