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Marian Dental Clinic celebrates growth

Morgan Chilson
morgan.chilson@cjonline.com
Krista Hahn, right, talks with Sister Mary Rosaleen Driscoll, who has worked at the clinic for about 30 years. Driscoll is a nurse and welcomes patients in the waiting room daily, helping them control their nerves and praying daily with Hahn. [Chris Neal/The Capital-Journal]

Topeka's Marian Dental Clinic supporters and staff celebrated renovations, community collaborations and service growth in the past two years at a ribbon-cutting Tuesday afternoon.

The clinic, at 3164 S.E. 6th Ave., is sponsored by SCL Health and offers dental services based on a sliding income scale. It has been thriving during the past two years, said executive director Krista Hahn, adding two new dentists to supplement the one already on staff and doubling the dental assistance team.

Marian increased the number of patients the organization served last year by 54 percent, to about 9,000 patients, she said. New patient appointments are booked out until October. About 98 percent of the patients served at the clinic fall below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which is $24,280 for one person and $50,200 for a family of four.

"We’re busting at the seams," Hahn said.

"Oftentimes people walk through our door, nervous, seeking routine dental care with no way to pay for their services," she said. "Other times, they may need more urgent care due to tooth pain that causes them to miss work and lose sleep. We want to be a solution to the ever-growing problem, and we want to help meet the need and break down barriers to quality dental care."

Hahn, who joined Marian in 2017, and others have worked to grow the clinic's community impact, making changes to reach more people and make the clinic more sustainable.

One of those changes was adding the ability to take private insurance in April 2017, Hahn said.

"The reason I did that was, No. 1, private insurance reimburses more, which is helpful for sustainability as a safety net clinic," Hahn said. "No. 2, we found quite a bit of individuals who have dental insurance provided by their employer, but they’re not using it, and they also fall under that poverty line. (They) are working poor, basically."

Marian Clinic has initiated other work with community partners in the past year to meet needs. One pilot project, supported by Topeka Community Foundation funding, is helping local emergency rooms and Marian track data related to dental care needs. Little data is available to show how often a dental infection or problem leads to septicemia, a blood infection that can cause death, she said. For instance, cause of death would be listed as septicemia and not a tooth problem.

"There is no data proving that there is a serious problem, other than ER visits," Hahn said.

Marian is working with local emergency rooms to provide a direct referral process when doctors see a patient in the ER for tooth pain. The patient is still triaged and treated as needed, such as being given an antibiotic. But then the patient is referred to Marian to be seen within 24 hours. About 80 percent of the patients have showed up for those appointments, which Hahn said is a good rate.

The program, which started in February, will track whether emergency rooms see a decrease in the number of ER visits due to dental pain, and Marian will track whether the patient becomes a regular visitor to the clinic to establish a dental home and continue to receive care.

Marian also is working with Valeo Behavioral Health to reach patients.

"There's a really, really deep connection between oral health and behavioral health," Hahn said. "It affects your self esteem and your ability to live life."

Stacy Forgy, Valeo's director of development, said Valeo teamed with Marian to make sure its clients, many of whom have had struggles to get both physical and dental health care, have access.

"We can help individuals better manage their mental health symptoms, and then as they become more stable, try to help them fully integrate into the community with employment, educational services," she said. "But even if their mental health is stable, we have often encountered individuals who just do not have the self esteem because of the impact of what their smile looks like."

Valeo puts those patients in contact with Marian Dental Clinic and helps them access transportation. Hahn said Topeka Metro recently installed a new covered bus stop in front of the clinic.

Other clinic programs include connecting with nursing students from Baker University and social workers with Stormont Vail Health.

Tuesday's event celebrated the organization's progress, Hahn said.

"I think we’re celebrating a new chapter," Hahn said. "Over the past couple of years, we’ve renovated and we’ve added new equipment. Our clinic spaces are refreshed, and we’re using high-quality equipment in order to allow us to provide high-quality services. Everyone deserves that experience. That’s really what we want to do is provide a patient-centered experience that is customized for each individual and their needs. Our ability to be in tune with their whole person is really important too."

BY THE NUMBERS

275,000: People served by Kansas safety net clinics in 2017; nearly 10 percent of the state's population

94,000: People receiving dental care services in Kansas

$46 million: Amount of uncompensated care in Kansas safety net clinics in 2017

$130,000: Dental care provided monthly through Marian Dental Clinic

$60,000: Amount of monthly uncompensated care at Marian

Source: Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved/Marian Dental Clinic