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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Dental School Receives $50,000 Grant to Aid Special-Needs Dental Patients
The College of Dental Medicine recently received a $50,000 grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida to hire an additional staff member to help with patients with special needs.
The grant will pay for a full-time employee called “dental patient navigator,” who will assist dental patients at the NSU dental clinic at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
The patient navigator will help NSU faculty dentists and dental students by providing patients with assistance in making and keeping their appointments. Various activities the patient navigator will perform include assisting patients to secure transportation; helping them qualify for dental program benefits and other subsidies; facilitate referrals to dental specialists; and assist with securing outpatient and inpatient services.
This new staff person will be providing a critically needed service to the parents and caregivers of children with special needs.
“This generous grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida will allow our special-needs children to access critically needed dental care by having a patient navigator to assist the families with a number of services to make and keep appointments”, said Stephen N. Abel, D.D.S., M.S.D., associate dean of extramural and public health programs at NSU’s College of Dental Medicine. “We are fortunate to have this Foundation support us and our mission to help medically underserved patients.”