Dental News - CDA Foundation grant helps Marin County dentist care for underserved

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CDA Foundation grant helps Marin County dentist care for underserved

Daniel Ramirez, DDS, has received a Student Loan Repayment Grant from the California Dental Association Foundation. Ramirez graduated from the UCSF School of Dentistry in 2016 and is currently employed at Coastal Health Alliance, a mobile clinic in West Marin County that provides care for the underserved. (Photo: CDA Foundation)

Fri. 12 January 2018

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA: The California Dental Association Foundation recently awarded Daniel Ramirez, DDS, with its Student Loan Repayment Grant. In exchange for a commitment to practice in an underserved community, Ramirez will receive up to $105,000 over three years toward repayment of student loans. Since 2002, the CDA Foundation’s grants and educational scholarship awards have enabled countless people to receive more than $108 million in care.

With a mission to improve the oral health of all Californians by supporting the dental profession in its efforts to meet community needs, the CDA Foundation offers its Student Loan Repayment and Grant program to allow dentists the opportunity to work in public health.

Ramirez graduated from the UCSF School of Dentistry in 2016 and is currently employed at Coastal Health Alliance, a mobile clinic in West Marin County that provides care for the underserved. Ramirez said personally encountering barriers to care in his early years ignited his passion for health care and an appreciation for diversity within the field.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to serve as a community role model, inspiring other underrepresented leaders to pursue their dreams of becoming an oral health provider,” Ramirez says. “As the ethnic landscape in our country changes, it is crucial for the dental profession to keep up. Through collaboration, diversification and strong leadership, we can dream big together and eliminate barriers to care.”

Ramirez was recently selected to participate in the American Dental Association Institute for Diversity in Leadership and is currently working on a strategy to address health care obstacles. Ramirez said he plans to continue advocating for policy changes that will improve access to dental care in remote areas.

“Complex challenges require creative, multifaceted approaches,” said Ramirez, who plans to address health care obstacles through legislative initiatives, local community partnerships and organized dentistry. “Besides prevention, education and treatment, underserved patients also need an advocate who will fight for the elimination of barriers to care.”

“Dr. Ramirez has demonstrated a remarkable dedication to his community and to efforts to eliminate barriers to dental care. His commitment to giving back and to advocating for the underserved make him an ideal recipient and an inspiration in our profession,” said CDA Foundation Chair Ron Mead, DDS. “We are confident his work will only further the reach of the CDA Foundation in its efforts to improve the oral health of Californians.”

The Student Loan Repayment Grant program has placed 17 dentists (Ramirez is the 18th) into community clinics where they have helped more than 100,000 patients and provided $27 million in care for individuals who experience barriers to care. And, almost all of those dentists have remained not only in public health but in the communities where they first served.

For more information, visit cdafoundation.org.

About the California Dental Association Foundation

The CDA Foundation was formed as the philanthropic arm of the California Dental Association in 2001 with the mission to improve the oral health of all Californians by supporting the dental health profession in its efforts to meet community needs. The CDA Foundation provides grants and scholarships to dental students and professionals, promotes oral health prevention and education, and holds dental clinics around the state that provide dental care at no charge to Californians in need.

(Source: CDA Foundation)

California Dental Association CDA Grant

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