The Lutheran Family Health Centers (LFHC) has received a $200,000 grant from the New York State Health Foundation to assist in the federally qualified health center (FQHC) offset acquisition and start-up costs it will incur when it takes over 15 school-based dental clinics, according to a news article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
New York City has announced that it will soon eliminate its Oral Health Program in public schools because of the economic downturn. LFHC has agreed to absorb 15 of the program's school-based clinics, according to the story.
"Since 1903 these clinics have been a vital part of New York's healthcare safety net, serving several thousand children," said Larry K. McReynolds, executive director of LFHC, in the story. "This funding will enable us to not only preserve this invaluable city resource but also, through our comprehensive FQHC system, allow us to increase insurance enrollments rates, improve overall oral health outcomes, and serve more children, all at a cost savings to New York."
