NATIONAL DENTAL ASSOCIATION TO LAUNCH NDA-HEALTH NOW-New Orleans™
July 14, 2014, Washington, DC- The National Dental Association (NDA) will launch a grassroots, community-based health project as part of its 101st Annual Convention, on Friday, July 25, 2014, at the Treme Recreation Center, 900 Villere St., New Orleans, LA, from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The health event will be hosted for the Treme Center’s Summer Camp children, their families, and the surrounding community. The project is made possible with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation and the Aetna Foundation. Corporate partners are: A-dec, ADI-MOBILE, Colgate-Palmolive, Crest-Oral B, Henry Schein Cares, Patterson Dental, Philips Sonicare, and Sunstar Americas, Inc.
The Treme Center event will include information on health education, nutrition and fitness, health screenings, and opportunities to “Ask the Experts”. Colgate’s Bright Smiles/Bright Futures vans will be on site to provide the children’s screening activities, face paintings, and fun with Mr. Rabbit, Colgate’s mascot. NDA-HEALTH NOW™ programs are currently active in Chicago, Dallas, and New York. The project forms partnerships with community organizations, dental schools, multi-cultural health professional groups, faith-based entities, community health centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, schools and senior citizen communities to increase access to health care. Future plans include the purchase and staffing of “mixed-use” mobile health units for each city equipped for medical screening, vision screening, and dental services.
Currently, NDA-HEALTH NOW-New Orleans™ is forming a local Advisory Committee, recruiting community partners, and developing local inter-professional leadership teams. Key elements of the project will include: 1) establishing referral networks for Medicaid and Medicare patients; 2) compiling resource directories of providers and pharmacies; and 3) developing and disseminating culturally and linguistically appropriate integrated medical-dental messages. Collaborations will be formed with other health professional groups, and multi-cultural organizations. NDA members constitute a massive network of providers and volunteers who have been the backbone of programs that strive to reach millions of underserved children and their families who do not have access to health care. The organization is dedicated to increasing access and supporting their members to remain in communities where they are needed most.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
CONVENTION CHAIR: Romell Madison, DDS, romjmadison@hotmail.com, 504.289.2074
LOCAL EVENT COORDINATOR: Alice Craft-Kerney, akerney@hotmail.com, 504.259.8279
NATIONAL DIRECTOR: Hazel Harper, DDS, MPH, hjharperdds@aol.com, 202.255.4591