KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Today, Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Washington Dental Service Foundation are announcing a new three-year matching grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation totaling $494,200 for the SeaTac Smiles Project of the King County Health Action Plan's Kids Get Care program.

The grant will support increased dental services for low-income residents in south King County by re-opening a clinic located at the SeaTac Occupational Skills Center. The clinic also will provide hands-on prevention-focused training for students preparing for dental professions. For more information about the SeaTac Occupational Skills Center, visit: www.seatacosc.org.

"Expanding access for low-income people is critical to addressing the oral health crisis in this state," said Tracy Garland, President and CEO of the Washington Dental Service Foundation. "Improved access requires innovative approaches to fully utilize existing clinics. We also need to expand community-based training for dental professionals so they gain experience providing services to culturally diverse communities."

The Washington Dental Service Foundation nominated the SeaTac Smiles Project for this prestigious grant. Over the course of three years, funds from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will match contributions from local funding partners who for the first year include the Washington Dental Service Foundation, Washington Health Foundation, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, United Way of King County, Community Health Plan of Washington, Group Health Community Foundation, Swedish Health Services, First Choice Health Network, and the Human Links Foundation. There will be additional funding partners for the second and third years of the project.

"This is a powerful new opportunity because it focuses on the greatest needs in training and service delivery," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "It also provides integrated preventive care for children."

Several local agencies will serve as community partners for SeaTac Smiles, providing referral services and linkages for patients as well as technical support and consultation for the project. These partners will include Family Medicine- Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Physicians Network, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, Puget Sound Educational Service District, Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, SeaTac Occupational Skills Center, United Way of King County, University of Washington School of Dentistry, Washington State Dental Association, and the WIC Program at Public Health - Seattle & King County.

"Hands-on, real-life experience is an essential ingredient in providing the best training for dental professionals at all levels. This grant provides a way to increase services to the community and provide expanded opportunities for the dental assistants that we train," said Carol Sharnikow, Dental Assisting Instructor, SeaTac Occupational Skills Center. The project will train dental assistant students, hygiene students and dental students.

SeaTac Smiles furthers the overarching goal of the Kids Get Care Program, which is to ensure children, regardless of insurance status, receive early integrated preventive physical, oral, developmental and mental health services through attachment to a health care home. For more information on Kids Get Care, visit: www.metrokc.gov/health/kgc

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to heath and health care. This matching grant was awarded under the RWJF Local Initiative Funding Partners program, which is one of the Foundation's most highly competitive annual grantmaking programs.

The Washington Dental Service Foundation is the state's largest foundation dedicated to improving oral health by supporting innovative approaches and focusing on oral disease prevention. For more information on the Washington Dental Service Foundation, visit: www.deltadentalwa.com/wdsfoundation/wdsfoundation.htm

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