Penn Dental Medicine and Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), along with Henry Schein Cares, hosted a community briefing September 4 on expanding access to oral health care and improving positive health outcomes through PHMC Dental on Cedar, Penn Dental Medicine’s latest community care site.
Leadership from Penn Dental Medicine, PHMC, and Henry Schein Cares convened local community members and clinical care providers at the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar to highlight the integration and co-location of physical and oral health and the positive impact of this new resource on the community. The program included remarks by Michael K. Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer of PHMC; Mark S. Wolff, DDS, PhD, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine; and Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein, Inc.
“Having a dental care center as part of a facility with other health care services is a model for building community wellness. Individuals can’t have good overall health without good oral health – they are implicitly linked,” said Dean Wolff. “At the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar, patients can easily access both dental and medical care, and clinicians across disciplines are building patient awareness of the oral and systemic health connection.”
PHMC Dental, which opened in January 2024, is part of the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar, an innovative and integrated public health campus serving West and Southwest Philadelphia at 54th Street and Cedar Avenue. The Campus also includes the PHMC Health Center on Cedar, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) Cedar, which provides emergency, inpatient, and behavioral health services. Additionally, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers a crisis response center for pediatric mental and behavioral health emergencies, including a stabilization unit and acute inpatient psychiatry services.
The dental care center features 11 state-of-the art dental operatories with care provided by Penn Dental Medicine DMD students as well as faculty and residents from the School’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program. Henry Schein Cares, Henry Schein’s global corporate citizenship program, contributed to equipping the space, including a groundbreaking health information system.
“For many decades, Henry Schein has worked to expand equitable access to quality, affordable health care for all, and we are pleased to join Penn Dental Medicine and PHMC to ‘help health happen’ for the local community,” said Mr. Bergman. “Integrated, preventive care, such as regular dental check-ups and cleanings, is essential in achieving optimal oral and overall health. Through PHMC Dental on Cedar, patients will have access to comprehensive care that will in turn help contribute to a healthier quality of life.”
To support the oral/systemic health connections, patients’ dental and health records are being integrated at the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar with Penn Dental Medicine’s electronic health records, expanding access to care and Penn Dental Medicine’s resources. In addition, video resources have been developed for medical and allied-medical providers that focus on actionable oral health issues throughout the lifespan with the goal of developing interprofessional protocols to enact better oral/systemic management with measured outcomes.
“PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar was founded on the principles of delivering collaborative, patient-centered care to the local community,” said Michael Pearson, president and CEO, PHMC. “The addition of high-quality dental services expands the Campus’ continuum of care and improves access to comprehensive health care for our neighbors in West and Southwest Philadelphia.”
PHMC Dental on Cedar is one of Penn Dental Medicine’s five community care programs that also include Puentes de Salud (serving the Latinx immigrant population at 1700 South Street), Mercy LIFE (serving seniors in West Philadelphia), PennSmiles mobile vehicle (serving children in schools and camps in West Philadelphia), and Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Care Center (serving individuals with special health care needs in Langhorne). Last year, Penn Dental Medicine had more than 25,000 patient visits at its community care centers.
Learn how to make an appointment at PHMC Dental on Cedar.
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
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