News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 11, 2005
For more information, contact: Virginia Elliott, Vice President for Programs, 620-662-8586

Project of the Year announced by Health Fund

Hutchinson, KS—The Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation received the Janet Sevier Gilbreath Special Project Recognition Award presented annually by the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund to acknowledge its project of the year.

The Dental Foundation's third Kansas Mission of Mercy (KMOM) -- April 30 through May 2, 2004 in Pittsburg -- provided $981,847 in free oral health services to 2,159 patients. Held on the campus of Pittsburg State University, 864 volunteers made the event possible with 144 dentists, 65 dental hygienists, and 156 dental assistants providing the free services.

There were two Mission of Mercy projects in 2003, in Garden City and Wyandotte County. The fourth KMOM event was recently completed in Salina, February 18-20. To date, the Missions of Mercy free clinics have enabled 8,878 patients to benefit from dental care which they may not have otherwise received.

Health Fund president Kim Moore said "We appreciate these free clinics not only for the relief they have brought thousands of our citizens, but also because they provide a dramatic underscore to the obvious limitations to oral health treatment in this state, especially for those with limited income." At the Pittsburg Mission of Mercy, 80.7% of the patients cited no insurance, and therefore the inability to pay, as the reason for not having sought treatment elsewhere.

The KMOM project was selected from among more than 150 projects funded during 2004 by the Health Fund in fulfilling its mission of Healthy Kansans through cooperative and strategic philanthropy guided by Christian principles. The Health Fund concentrates its grant making in three crucial areas: oral health, healthy lifestyles through physical activity and healthier food choices, and access to health care in Kansas.

Board members Dr. Jon Tilton, Wichita; Dr. Glenn Hemberger, Overland Park; Executive Director Kevin Robertson, Topeka; and staff member Greg Hill, Topeka, represented the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation at the recognition ceremony. The award was presented by Jackie John, Phillipsburg, Chairperson of the Health Fund's Board of Trustees.

The Project of the Year award is named in honor of Janet Sevier Gilbreath, the first Chairperson of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. The criteria for selection include the attainment of goals, volunteer support, development of community support, and good management and financial practices to assure quality of service delivery.

 

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