LYNNWOOD — The Puget Sound Christian Clinic had dreamed for more than a decade of opening a new nonprofit dental clinic.
There were times when even Diane Steward, the group’s long-time executive director, wondered if it would ever happen. Now, the planned opening of the new dental office is just four months away.
The organization wanted to help fill a need for dental care in south Snohomish County, an area where approximately one in three adults don’t have dental insurance, according to the Verdant Health Commission.
In Snohomish County, the greatest need is for procedures such as root canals and crowns to save patients’ teeth, said Deborah Murphy, the dental clinic’s project manager. Although Medicaid pays for some procedures, such as X-rays and fillings, it doesn’t pay for more complicated procedures such as root canals. “To save a tooth, the patient is left coming up with cash,” Murphy said, which could be as much as $1,800. “That is really unaffordable for folks.”
A number of local groups stepped up to help pay for the new $755,000 clinic. Services will be provided only to adults. Fees will be based on the patient’s income.
The dental clinic is scheduled to open in early July at 19825 Scriber Lake Road, close to the intersection of Highway 99 and 196th Street SW. The clinic will share space in the building with Northwest Church, which is moving from Shoreline.
The building formerly housed a gym and extensive renovations are still underway. The dental clinic will have space for five dental chairs and is expected to serve 1,800 adults in the first 12 months after opening its doors, Steward said.
The dental clinic will be operated by an organization that is best known in Snohomish County for its blue-and-white mobile medical van which makes regular stops in Snohomish and Lynnwood. Patients are charged $10 for a medical appointment.
Puget Sound Christian Clinic was formed in Seattle in 2003. Its offices near Haller Lake in north Seattle offer medical and dental appointments as well as counseling to low-income and uninsured patients. But the organization is only able to serve about 200 dental patients a year at those offices, Steward said.
“People are so desperate to find dental care,” she said. “They’ll go wherever they can to find it.”
The waiting list for care at its Seattle offices is so long that patients sometimes have to wait up to a year for treatment.
Verdant, a foundation-like organization based in Lynnwood, was one of the early donors to drive to open the dental clinic. It approved grants of $150,000 for construction, and $200,000 for each of the first three years for operating costs. Other major donors include the Employees Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound, which contributed $275,000 and The Washington Dental Service Foundation, which donated $150,000.
There’s still a big need for donations to help keep the clinic running after it opens, Steward said. Its first-year operating budget is $625,000. The clinic needs to raise an estimated $375,000 to cover those costs. A fundraiser is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. April 22 at Everett’s New Life Church.
Chris Goldman, a pastor at Northwest Church, said about 3,300 square feet of the building will be used for the dental clinic and administrative offices.
The church hopes to have its first service in the building in June. It also plans to offer a number of other services, he said. They will include a printing center for business people who work out of their homes as well as a place where they can connect with each other; a summer camp for kids who can’t afford to go to camp; and after-school programs.
The Puget Sound Christian’s Clinic mobile medical van will be based at the church on Tuesdays, he said.
The church’s goal is to transform lives and the community, Goldman said. “We really want to make a difference through this facility in the Lynnwood-Edmonds area.”
Sharon Salyer: 425-33-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
A fundraiser for the Puget Sound Christian Clinic is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. April 22 at New Life Church, 6830 Highland Drive in Everett. Register by April 12 at pschristianclinic.org. Donations for the new dental clinic in Lynnwood also may be made through the website or by sending a check to the organization at 2152 N. 122nd Street, Seattle, WA 98133-8524
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