Los Angeles, Calif. (November 7, 2013) –More than 450 dental visits have been provided to low-income and special needs children in Los Angeles County’s Early Head Start and Head Start programs associated with Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District, Volunteers of America and Westside Children’s Center. Children enrolled in these programs now have a new way to receive dental screenings, assessments, and preventive services thanks First 5 LA’s one million dollar grant. The funding supports a new partnership and a ground- breaking telehealth pilot project called the “Virtual Dental Home,” which makes it possible for hundreds of children to get the dental care they need and to help spread the model to serve even more children.
“This is a smart and innovative way to get dental care to children who might otherwise go without it,” said Jenny Kattlove of The Children’s Partnership. “As more children qualify for dental benefits under health care reform, communities and states everywhere should be examining how new technologies like this can reach large numbers of children with the high quality dental care they need.”
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