Event highlights its Project Accessible Oral Health initiative to raise awareness about the number one unmet healthcare need of the disability community.
Dr. David Miller, President, Special Care Dentistry Association and Project Accessible Oral Health Board Member, joins together with President & CEO of The Viscardi Center and Chairman of Project Accessible Oral Health John D. Kemp, and Project Accessible Oral Health Executive Director Barbie Vartanian.
Registered Dental Hygienist Yocelyn Arevalo educates Henry Viscardi School student, Jana, during Project Accessible Oral Health’s inaugural “Take a Dental Health Day – Screening and Education for the Disability Community” event.
Dr. Douglas Schildhaus undergoes a “screening” from Victoria, a student at the Henry Viscardi School.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, New York State Assemblyman Anthony D’ Urso, New York State Senator Kemp Hannon, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town of North Hempstead Councilman Peter Zuckerman, and Town of North Hempstead Clerk Wayne Wink attended to learn more about this healthcare need.
The program featured varnish applications, an interactive, customized education component including puppets and videos, dental report cards highlighting dental issues, much-needed help in finding an appropriate dental home, if needed, and goody bags to help reinforce good dental health in the home.
Unequal access to oral healthcare is the number one unmet health need for the 57 million people with disabilities in America. This injustice results in lack of preventative care leading to higher costs and negative impact to overall health.
Since its inception in 2017, The Viscardi Center’s Project Accessible Oral Health initiative has worked together with its global network of stakeholders to raise awareness and make change happen through an aggressive schedule of public speaking engagements and its role as a connector of legislators and insurance companies to consider this crisis and how they can help, so that one day all people with disabilities have equal access to oral healthcare as the non-disabled.
About Project Accessible Oral Health
Under The Viscardi Center’s network of 501(c)(3) organizations, Project Accessible Oral Health is a global public-private partnership and the first national nonprofit to assemble and connect a consortium of dental and medical professionals, corporations, organizations, policymakers, educators, people with disabilities, caregivers, and other stakeholders in pursuit of equal access to culturally competent oral healthcare. The Project’s mission is to act as a collective catalyst for change that will not only improve access to oral healthcare, but also ultimately improve the overall health of the disability community. Project Accessible Oral Health’s founders include John D. Kemp, President and CEO of The Viscardi Center, Steve W. Kess, Vice President of Global Professional Relations, Henry Schein, Inc. and Co-Founder of Henry Schein Cares and Dr. Mark Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean at Penn Dental Medicine.
About The Viscardi Center
Founded by Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., who served as disability advisor to eight U.S. Presidents and became one of the world’s leading advocates, The Viscardi Center educates, employs and empowers people with disabilities. It provides K-12 education (up to age 21), school-to-work youth transition services, vocational training, career counseling and employment placement, assistive technology, and adapted driver education to children, adolescents, and adults with a wide variety of disabilities. The Viscardi Center also assists businesses in diversifying their workforces, and developing and advancing inclusive cultures in their workplaces.