New Horizons Healthcare announces the Opening of New Horizons Dental Care After fourteen years in business providing affordable primary health care options to the Roanoke community, Eileen Lepro, chief executive officer of New Horizons Healthcare announces that the health center has expanded its services to include New Horizons Dental Care. The clinic is currently open five days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will begin offering limited Saturday hours later this year. New Horizons Dental Care employs a complete dental team to provide services, including three part-time dentists, a registered dental hygienist, dental assistants, and front office staff. New Horizons Dental Care has a sliding fee program for those who qualify, based on income, and also accepts most dental insurance plans.
The clinic is hosting an Open House and “Floss Cutting” on Thursday, Jan. 15, beginning at 5:30 p.m. “Although we had a “soft opening” in late November, we wanted to hold this special event to help get the word out about New Horizons Dental Care. The need for affordable dental services has overwhelmed the available resources in the Roanoke Valley. We’re excited to be able to offer this new service to our current patients, as well as to make it available to other individuals and families in the community who need our assistance,” according to Lepro.
“We’ve been very fortunate to receive grant funding from several local and state level sources, including the City of Roanoke, Human Services ($10,000); United Way of the Roanoke Valley ($75,000); Virginia Health Care Foundation ($168,000); the Foundation for Roanoke Valley ($50,000); the Roanoke Women’s Foundation ($72,000); and the Richard & Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust ($32,500)”, Ms. Lepro explains. “In addition, we received an increase in our annual federal grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support the expansion of the dental program. These grants have been critical to establishing the program in this first year. The funding has been used to hire staff, purchase needed equipment and supplies, and to ensure that the clinic is operational and offering services on a sliding fee scale to those with no insurance and limited incomes.”
In the 2012 Roanoke Valley Community Health Needs Assessment, access to affordable dental care for uninsured and low-income residents was identified as one of the greatest healthcare needs in the Roanoke Valley. Adult dental care was reported as the hardest health care service to get in the community. Several years of strategic visioning and planning by New Horizons Healthcare and its community partners, including the United Way of Roanoke Valley’s Health Roanoke Valley, culminated in the development of the new dental clinic.
Among the services offered by New Horizons Healthcare for all ages and life stages are physical exams, immunizations, preventive health care and health education, care for chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart conditions, care for acute illnesses, behavioral health assessment, treatment, and counseling, and an on-site pharmacy and medication assistance program.
To learn more about New Horizons Dental Care or to make an appointment for services, please call 362-0360, ext. 171.
