March 27, 2024

A Mobile Dentist for St. Mary’s County?

dentist light

Posted for Community Development Corporation, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital and Walden Behavioral Health
By Jay Friess

dentist light

Photo by stan

If all goes according to plan, St. Mary’s County could soon have a mobile dentistry van.

A group of St. Mary’s County’s leading medical and social services organizations will soon learn whether they have recieved a $500,000 grant to create a one-stop shop for care in Lexington Park, Maryland. If the grant comes through, the group plans to convert the county’s HealthShare van into a rolling dental clinic, according to Robin Finnacom, director of the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation.

MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, Walden Behavioral Health, Greater Baden Medical Services, Inc., St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services and the CDC have signed an agreement to work toward obtaining the grant and creating a Community Health Center in Great Mills.

The group wants to build “an integrated community health and wellness center” to serve the park, and obtain a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area designation from the state plus the grant. The grant would be administered through St. Mary’s Hospital..

The group aims to eventually transform their effort into a 40,000 square foot building at the front of Cherry Cove’s East Run development, the name given for a proposed re-development of the Lord Calvert Mobile Home Park on Great Mills Road. The new development would comprise 127 single-family homes and 500 apartments on 79 acres at the corner of Great Mills and Chancellors Run Roads.

The group also envisions creating a special medical bus route for the new facility; enlist local barber shops and beauty salons in a heart health awareness program; and provide cultural and language training for local medical and dental practitioners.

According to the group’s statistics, the center would serve an area containing 28 percent of the county’s population. The group noted that 30 percent of hospital emergency room visits in 2012 were by people living in the service area.

The group has some competition. Charles County, East Baltimore City, Baltimore City, Dorchester County, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, Allegany County and Wicomico County are also competing to get the grant for their own projects.

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