The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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May 23, 2009

Open Door gets grant

New dental program to be launched

By Robb Murray

MANKATO — The Open Door Clinic in Mankato plans to launch a new preventive dental care program for school-age children.

The program, made possible by a $15,000 grant from Minnesota-based Delta Dental, will be called Smiles Across Minnesota. It will build upon the work that Open Door, the Minnesota Valley Action Council and the dental hygiene program at Minnesota State University have been doing for pre-school children since 2005.

The cooperative effort has helped hundreds of young children who don’t have dental insurance to get good dental care. Now it’s hoping it can have the same success with school-age children that other cities have had.

“It’s been quite successful in St. Paul and some of the schools up in the metro area,” said Sarah Kruse, Open Door’s executive director.

It’s too soon, Kruse said, to say exactly how the program will operate or how many kids will benefit. But if the impact is anything like the program they’ve been operating for pre-schoolers, the impact should be significant.

The program will be funded partially by the $15,000 grant from Delta Dental. Since 2005, Delta has given grants to Open Door in varying amounts, from $6,500 to $15,000. The grant will fund both the new initiative and the program for pre-schoolers.

“We took care of kids when they were in pre-school, and now they’re getting to school age, and there aren’t programs out there for dental care for them,” Kruse said.

Ann Johnson, an official with Delta Dental, said the Open Door Clinic’s work is impressive and they’re glad to be able to help them help the community’s kids.

In a clinic-issued statement Johnson said, “We are encouraged not only by the impact our funding makes toward reducing dental disease and supporting healthier lives, but also by Open Door’s ongoing commitment to develop collaborative partners and positive relationships with community leaders, public health providers and to other local nonprofit organizations in the region.”

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