Title
Proclamation congratulating the Allegheny County Health Department Dental Sealant Program on its ten years of operation, and thanking the program for serving low-income families in need of dental care.
Body
WHEREAS, in 1997, the Allegheny County Health Department launched a Dental Sealant Program after a survey found that alarmingly high numbers of children with tooth decay from low-income families were going untreated; and
WHEREAS, that program was started with a $100,000 grant from an anonymous donor but has since become self-sustained through reimbursements for Medicaid-eligible children and continuing corporate and foundation support; and
WHEREAS, more than 8,000 young people have been provided with dental exams and sealants since the program's inception, through regular visits in approximately 60 schools throughout Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, the program is provided by the Health Department in a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and with support from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare; and
WHEREAS, an unnumbered host of dental care problems in the later life of these young people and the costs to the public health care system associated with them have been averted through this timely prevention program;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Allegheny County Council congratulates the Allegheny County Health Department Dental Sealant Program on its ten years of operation and the good it has done in our community in that time. The Dental Sealant Program has become a remarkable example of how a county-administered health care program, coupled with the financial support of caring individuals and organizations that are willing to donate much-needed resources, can help improve the quality of life for those who need it most.