As Kemple Memorial Children’s Dental Clinic prepares for its 20th year serving the community, the organization announces grant awards in the amount of $133,500.
Established in 1998, Kemple Clinic works to improve the oral health of children and young adults in Central Oregon. This is accomplished by providing critical preventative, dental treatment services and education for those whose families cannot access basic dental care. The grant donations listed below were received during the 2016-2017 fiscal year and will help Kemple expand its services across the region.
• Central Oregon Health Council – Regional Health Improvement Plan (RHIP) (www.cohealthcouncil.org/areasoffocus) awarded a $50,000 grant to support Kemple Clinic’s dental health improvement programs. The Central Oregon Health Council is dedicated to improving the health of the region and providing oversight of the Medicaid population and Coordinated Care Organization (Pacific Source CCO).
• Children’s Dental Health Initiative (OCF) (www.oregoncf.org) provided $50,000 grant for school-based screen and seal programs. OCF creates charitable funds that support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF annually awards more than $60 million in grants and scholarships.
• St. Charles Foundation (www.stcharlesfoundation.org) provided $13,000 to support Kemple Clinic’s Dental Clinic and School/Community Based Screen and Seal Program projects. As the philanthropic arm of St. Charles Health System, the Foundation works to support and improve health care in Central and Eastern Oregon.
• Willamette Dental Group (www.willamettedental.com/in-the-community.htm) awarded $3,500 in support of Kemple Clinic’s programs.
• Rotary of Greater Bend (www.greaterbendrotary.com) provided a $1,500 grant for regional screen and seal programs. The main objective of Rotary is service in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.
• National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (www.ncohf.org) awarded a $5,000 Medicom Tooth Fairy Grant to expand and enhance Kemple Clinic’s ability to provide vital oral health services to underserved families in our community. NCOHF is dedicated to eliminating children’s preventable suffering from pediatric dental disease by providing programs and comprehensive resources to deliver community-based critical preventive, educational and treatment services.
• Wells Fargo Foundation (www.wellsfargo.com) awarded a $2,500 grant to support Kemple Clinic’s Dental Clinic & School/Community Based Screen and Seal Program.
• Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR) (www.coar.com) granted $1,500 to support and expand Kemple Clinic programs.
• Les Schwab Tire Centers of Oregon, Inc. (www.lesschwab.com) provided a $5,000 donation to fund Kemple Clinic’s program needs.
• Mt. Bachelor Rotary (www.mtbachelorrotary.org) donated $1,000 to support Kemple Clinic’s programs. Rotary is a non-profit organization of key business and community leaders who volunteer their time and resources to serve the needs of others, both in the community and around the world, and share a passion for Service Above Self.
• OnPoint Community Credit Union (www.onpointcu.com) donated $500 to support Kemple Clinic’s community programs. OnPoint’s employee-managed Community Relations Committee awards donations and directs community participation to help empower people to improve the quality of their lives.
As Kemple Clinic nears its 20th anniversary, it does so with an eye toward continuing its mission of making a positive impact on the oral health of children and young adults across the region. Kemple’s Executive Director, Suzanne Browning, says one way they are accomplishing that is through a collaboration with Central Oregon Health Council and area Dental Care Organizations. “Keep Children Cavity Free is a key Central Oregon Health Improvement Plan prevention goal and we are proud to provide direct support and programs to achieve that goal. The grant from COHC exhibits their faith in us as key to supporting the Regional Health Plan.” More information about the Tri-County Health Plan focus areas can be found at http://cohealthcouncil.org/programs/.
During the 2016-2017 fiscal year, volunteer dentists provided over $130,000 in critical dental services to Kemple kids. As Browning, explains, “Each year during our school screenings, we identify more than 1,500 children in Central Oregon with urgent or near term dental needs. Without these screenings and community support, the needs of these at-risk children would likely go unmet and they would suffer unimaginable pain. Instead, they receive quality dental care in a timely manner so that they can stay healthy, stay in school and succeed right along with their peers.”
Kemple Clinic also delivers preventative services, education and oral health products to children throughout Central Oregon. The organization’s team of volunteer dentists, suppliers, dental professionals and vendors donated $700,000 of in-kind services, support and supplies this year, which allowed Kemple to visit 47 schools and community service venues, where they applied dental sealants to over 5,000 teeth and provided dental screenings to 6,400 children. This year, 13 more Bend LaPine elementary schools were added to the Screen and Seal Program schedules – a worthy addition to ensure that our children are quickly assessed, parents informed and dental needs met.
