1609-12455

Whittier Street Health Center (Whittier) is requesting $20,000 from the Community Response Fund to support the purchase and installation of a dental microscope for its dental clinic. Acquiring this advanced dental microscope will allow the introduction of additional oral services to Whittier’s current practice and eliminate present gaps in pediatric dental treatment. Whittier serves the mainly-minority, low-income neighborhoods of Boston’s Empowerment Zone – an area distinguished by a high degree of poverty and chronic illness stretching from Dorchester to parts of downtown Boston. By acquiring the dental microscopes, Whittier is seeking to provide a more thorough care for it’s the pediatric patients, ensuring the retention of the patients and growth of capacity in the neighborhoods and communities it already services in the Empowerment Zone. In Fiscal Year 2016, Whittier aided over 30,000 individuals. Of these, 8,400 dental patients were serviced through 21,545 visits, which included 654 orthodontic visits. Sixty-eight percent of Whittier's patients live below the poverty level, 81% live in public housing, and 35% are uninsured. Whittier’s patients bear a disproportionate burden of preventable chronic diseases, including high rates of oral health issues.