Dental care for Montreal’s most vulnerable people has just received a fantastic boost through an extraordinary donation to the Faculty of Dentistry at Â鶹AV. In December 2014, the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation made a $3.2 million donation which will ensure the Faculty’s community outreach programs continue to meet the needs of those without access to dental care. The decision to donate the money is part of the Foundation’s commitment to keep the people of Quebec healthy, one of the central goals of the Faculty’s community outreach programs, which saw over 1800 patients and provided $871 172 worth of free dental care in 2013. But what makes this donation different, is that the Foundation has decided to support the research that goes with these community services. This important and insightful move by the Foundation will enable the Faculty to build on its existing research programs that evaluate different dental care delivery models for vulnerable groups. Both parties hope that in the future this partnership will have helped developed new, more permanent models of care integrated in government health services. “Â鶹AV is a great place to develop these programs which echo our vision of a healthy and equitable society,” says Dr. Christophe Bedos, Director of the Division of Oral Health and Society. “The Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation has offered us the opportunity to better understand the expectations of underprivileged populations, develop models of care that respond to their needs and promote positive changes in the health care system.”
This monumental donation will be given over the next eight years. The community outreach programs will receive $300 000 per year, and the research Division of Oral Health & Society will receive $100 000 per year. The Mobile Outreach Clinic, the Jim Lund Clinic at Welcome Hall Mission, the Pediatric Dental Clinic at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Summer Clinic will all be touched by the donation, ensuring that vulnerable communities in Montreal are receiving good quality treatment and education in oral health care. The Faculty hopes to expand its current services by seeking new partnership opportunities with community organisms serving the elderly. They also plan on extending the clinical hours at the Pediatric Clinic from its current two days per week. In addition to the aforementioned services, three or four residents in the Faculty’s General Residency Program will be supported to obtain training in mobile dental care. Each of these residents will spend up to 16 days during their training working with Dr. Kwong Li, a dentist performing care using mobile equipment in private homes and institutions for the elderly and handicapped. The Division of Oral Health & Society will also receive funding to support the eight professors and graduate students doing Masters or Doctorates on access to dental care, as well as the costs of the research itself. “We couldn’t be more excited to have this generous gift from the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation. It will allow for the Faculty of Dentistry to enter into a new era: one where the highest quality of teaching, research and community service can converge and those in need can be given the care they need,” says Paul Allison, Dean of the Faculty. “We are grateful to the Foundation for their generosity and for supporting us in providing care for Montreal’s most vulnerable citizens.”