The Fowler Memorial Free Dental Clinic is located in Suite B-14 of the Green County Health Department, N3150 Wisconsin 81. Contact by phone 608-328-9404; 1-866-881-1595, or e-mail fowlerclinic@greencounty.org
MONROE - The Fowler Memorial Free Dental Clinic opened its doors at 8 a.m. Friday with an exuberant volunteer staff at the Green County Health Department at Pleasant View Complex on Wisconsin 81.
The clinic, the first of its kind in the county, serves children from ages 3 to 12, referred with a dental emergency and unable to access dental care in Green County.
Dentist Julio Rodriguez of Brodhead and dental assistant Sue Trotter were the first volunteer dental professionals at the clinic. The team used the day off from their regular clinic to serve 10 children with severe dental needs.
AnnaMaria Bliven, clinic coordinator, cheerfully greeting the children who came in.
"We've seen pretty much everything in one short morning," Rodriguez said at 11 a.m.
The dental needs of the clinic's first young patients ranged from root canal to several cavities.
"One (child) had severe bottle decay, in excess of 60 percent of the teeth affected, and only 2 years old," he said.
That case had to be referred to a Madison child specialist. Other extreme cases probably will be referred to the Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC) opening in May in Darlington.
Eight-year-old Daniel Ward, Monroe, was the sixth patient of the day. His sister Jenelle, 10, was the seventh.
His mother, Jennifer Ward, said Daniel had been in pain and on antibiotics for a week for an abscess in the right side of his jaw. A doctor told her Daniel had to see a dentist.
"I am so thankful," she said about the clinic. "There's nobody in town that would do this."
Ward had tried to find dental care for her children in the past, but was told the closest free clinics were in Madison and Janesville.
"I called a couple, and they told me there was a waiting list," she said.
Ward didn't ask how long the waiting list was. "Not to be blunt, but you get the run-around when you're on MA (medical assistance)," she said.
Not knowing that Green County's Fowler Memorial clinic was opening, Ward called Green County Human Services on Monday, asking who she could see for Daniel's dental problems.
Daniel got the 11 a.m. appointment on Friday.
The Fowler Clinic is open according to volunteer availability, for children referred by Green County Human Services, Health Department or school nurses, and whose family income meets 300 percent of poverty level. The clinic has three dentists volunteering their time and skills, and is seeking more dentists, dental assistants and hygienists.
"This is an effort as long as our elected officials haven't solved the problem," Rodriguez said. "The Coalition decided to step up and do something about it."
The Fowler Memorial Free Dental Clinic is a Green County Healthy Communities Coalition project, jointly shared with Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program (SWCAP), Monroe Clinic and Green County Health Department.
A lack of access to dental care was identified as a community need in each of the last three bi-annual assessments by the Coalition and SWCAP.
In December 2007, these two groups made the commitment to partner together to explore the feasibility to develop a dental clinic in Green County serving those unable to access dental care. A steering committee was formed to research and implement a program which would improve dental care access in Green County.
Equipment for the clinic was donated by the wife of deceased Orangeville dentist Don Fowler and the state.
"From his office to this," Rodriguez said.
The clinic, the first of its kind in the county, serves children from ages 3 to 12, referred with a dental emergency and unable to access dental care in Green County.
Dentist Julio Rodriguez of Brodhead and dental assistant Sue Trotter were the first volunteer dental professionals at the clinic. The team used the day off from their regular clinic to serve 10 children with severe dental needs.
AnnaMaria Bliven, clinic coordinator, cheerfully greeting the children who came in.
"We've seen pretty much everything in one short morning," Rodriguez said at 11 a.m.
The dental needs of the clinic's first young patients ranged from root canal to several cavities.
"One (child) had severe bottle decay, in excess of 60 percent of the teeth affected, and only 2 years old," he said.
That case had to be referred to a Madison child specialist. Other extreme cases probably will be referred to the Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC) opening in May in Darlington.
Eight-year-old Daniel Ward, Monroe, was the sixth patient of the day. His sister Jenelle, 10, was the seventh.
His mother, Jennifer Ward, said Daniel had been in pain and on antibiotics for a week for an abscess in the right side of his jaw. A doctor told her Daniel had to see a dentist.
"I am so thankful," she said about the clinic. "There's nobody in town that would do this."
Ward had tried to find dental care for her children in the past, but was told the closest free clinics were in Madison and Janesville.
"I called a couple, and they told me there was a waiting list," she said.
Ward didn't ask how long the waiting list was. "Not to be blunt, but you get the run-around when you're on MA (medical assistance)," she said.
Not knowing that Green County's Fowler Memorial clinic was opening, Ward called Green County Human Services on Monday, asking who she could see for Daniel's dental problems.
Daniel got the 11 a.m. appointment on Friday.
The Fowler Clinic is open according to volunteer availability, for children referred by Green County Human Services, Health Department or school nurses, and whose family income meets 300 percent of poverty level. The clinic has three dentists volunteering their time and skills, and is seeking more dentists, dental assistants and hygienists.
"This is an effort as long as our elected officials haven't solved the problem," Rodriguez said. "The Coalition decided to step up and do something about it."
The Fowler Memorial Free Dental Clinic is a Green County Healthy Communities Coalition project, jointly shared with Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program (SWCAP), Monroe Clinic and Green County Health Department.
A lack of access to dental care was identified as a community need in each of the last three bi-annual assessments by the Coalition and SWCAP.
In December 2007, these two groups made the commitment to partner together to explore the feasibility to develop a dental clinic in Green County serving those unable to access dental care. A steering committee was formed to research and implement a program which would improve dental care access in Green County.
Equipment for the clinic was donated by the wife of deceased Orangeville dentist Don Fowler and the state.
"From his office to this," Rodriguez said.