JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CINCINNATI ANNOUNCES PEDIATRIC DENTAL CENTER OPENING

Grand Opening at Oyler School on September 23rd

CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 – The Junior League of Cincinnati (JLC), in conjunction with the Children’s Oral Health Network (COHN), will celebrate the Grand Opening of the Delta Dental Center at Oyler School, located at 2121 Hatmaker Street, Cincinnati, OH 45204 on Monday, September 23, 2013, at 10:30 a.m.

The Delta Dental Center at Oyler School is a program of COHN, which grew out of a 2012 Junior League of Cincinnati community advisors meeting that was convened to identify top unmet community needs. As a result, JLC became a founding member of COHN and later adopted the Pediatric Oral Health project to serve children.

Dental care is the single-most, common healthcare need among children in Ohio, with nearly 200,000 unmet encounters in Hamilton County alone. Research has proven that only two conditions correlate with poor standardized test performance: dental decay and obesity, making school-based dental centers ideally placed to address this unmet need. The Delta Dental Center at Oyler School will care for students on the Oyler School campus as well as provide care for children from surrounding schools. Initially, it will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on school days. One full-time dentist and at least four other dental professionals will staff the center. Additionally, volunteer dentists from the Cincinnati Dental Society’s Oral Health Foundation will visit the clinic frequently throughout the month to serve uninsured patients. Parents of students are also able to call the clinic and make appointments for their children at 513-363-4135. Another COHN clinic at Western Hills/Dater High School, which is currently under construction, will open in spring of 2014. The Cincinnati Health Department will be the operating partner of both school clinics. In addition, a portable dental team will visit numerous area schools throughout the year to provide onsite examinations and preventative care.

The JLC will focus its volunteer participation within COHN’s education and advocacy programs. JLC members will help develop educational programs for healthcare providers and families as well as games and interactive learning opportunities for children at the dental centers and in school. The JLC’s Pediatric Oral Health Advocacy Committee will research and analyze current local, state and federal laws that impact the oral health of children and motivate improvements consistent with COHN’s mission.

About the Children’s Oral Health Network:
The Children’s Oral Health Network is now serving the community with a mission to create a seamless system of accessible, affordable oral health care for children ages 0-18 in Greater Cincinnati and to ensure children received professional dental care by age 1. The mission of COHN is being achieved through three principal initiatives: access, education and advocacy.

The Founding Members of COHN include the Junior League of Cincinnati, Community Learning Center Institute, Growing Well Cincinnati, The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Dental Society, Sano Consulting, Interact for Health, CincySmiles, University of Cincinnati/Blue Ash College, Public Media Connect – CET/ThinkTV, Caresource. Additional support comes from the Delta Dental Foundation, Cincinnati Dental Society’s Oral Health Foundation, Cincinnati Public Schools, Deaconess Foundation, and ADEC.

About the Junior League of Cincinnati:
The Junior League of Cincinnati has been a part of the Greater Cincinnati community for more than 90 years and has almost 1,000 members across all social and professional strata. It is committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. As a service-based, non-profit organization, the Junior League of Cincinnati educates its members and the community about current public affairs to strengthen its ability to make an impact on the lives of those it serves.