MedShare Helps Ethne Health Open its First Dental Clinic to Serve Community
Oral health is an essential component of primary care, and it has been well documented that dental professionals can play a crucial role in identifying signs of chronic disease, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Which is why MedShare and our partners seek to support our free and safety-net clinics that provide dental care in marginalized communities.
Once such clinic is located in the tightknit refugee haven of Clarkston, Georgia, where dental care had been all but inaccessible until earlier this month, when Ethne Health opened its own dental clinic targeting uninsured and underinsured people in one of Atlanta’s most diverse neighborhoods.
Prioritizing patients who would not otherwise get care, Ethe intends to serve refugees with limited means to pay for dental services outright and/or those who have difficulty purchasing medical insurance that covers dental care. Many of these individuals must also confront transportation and language barriers which frequently combine to complicate access to care. As is the case in the medical clinic, the dental clinic will also rely on trained interpreters to help ensure that language isn’t a major issue.
The new dental clinic occupies a space across the street from the Ethne Health medical clinic, located in the heart of Clarkston and within walking distance for many families. Initially, Ethne Dental will be open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and every other week on Wednesdays from 9 am to 1pm, and will expand clinic hours over time.
Ethne Health’s mission is to deliver comprehensive, high-value healthcare through a culturally sensitive, neighbor-centered medical home in a community with the highest concentration of refugees in the Southeast.
In just six brief years, the team has grown Ethne Health from a three-room walk-in clinic to a full-time, fully staffed medical operation treating those with and without insurance. MedShare has been pleased to play a small part in the growth of the clinic and is committed to supporting the expansion of Ethne’s dental practice after our donation of a brand new Midmark M11 autoclave and a myriad of medical supplies.
