For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES LAUNCHES MOBILE CLINIC TO MARK TWENTY YEARS OF DENTAL SERVICES
Dental Office on Wheels Will Bring Professional Care to Low-Income People with HIV/AIDS across L.A. County
Los Angeles, CA, March 25, 2005 – On its 20th anniversary of providing dental care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County, AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today launched a new mobile dental clinic at a ceremony at The Antelope Valley Hope Center in Lancaster, CA.
Responding to the need for professional and confidential dental care for people living with HIV/AIDS, APLA opened The Greene / LeBaron Dental Clinic in March of 1985. The clinic, initially staffed by volunteers, was the nation’s first 100 percent AIDS-dedicated dental facility operated by a community based organization.
During 20 years of growth, APLA’s clinic became the nation’s largest provider of dental services to people living with HIV/AIDS. APLA began planning for the launch of a mobile dental clinic to reach under-served regions of Los Angeles County in 2004. Funding for the mobile dental clinic was provided by The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, The Ahmanson Foundation, and the S. Mark Taper Foundation.
“Today is a very important day for APLA. It marks a milestone in our plans to bring vital HIV/AIDS services to all people in Los Angeles County, regardless of where they live,” said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson in his welcome to the assembly. “After expanding our food bank program to get more than 10,000 bags of groceries into the hands of low income people living with HIV/AIDS in the Antelope Valley who need them, we are pleased to begin dental services here and look forward to building on our successes with our community partners.”
Speakers at the program currently included the Honorable Michael D. Antonovich Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Fifth District; Dr. John F. Schunhoff, Chief of Operations, Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Department of Health Services; the Honorable Frank C. Roberts, Mayor of the City of Lancaster, and Craig E. Thompson, Executive Director, AIDS Project Los Angeles.
APLA Dental Services treats all HIV-positive patients, regardless of their
ability to pay. Approximately 41 percent of clients receive free services;
other patients pay
on a sliding-scale fee basis or through insurance billing as appropriate.
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In 2005, approximately 1,700 patients from across Los Angeles County will receive treatment in the main APLA dental office in the Samaritan Medical Tower. The mobile clinic will reach another 375 patients.
Some facts about APLA Dental Services and oral health for people with HIV/AIDS:
• Approximately one-third of all people living with HIV/AIDS have experienced oral conditions that have arisen due to a weakened immune system.
• Dental care was ranked as the second most needed service by people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County’s comprehensive needs assessment of this population.
• Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of APLA Dental Services patients are people of color, and nearly half (46 percent) have annual incomes under $10,000.
• APLA Dental Services are provided to men and women living in all areas of Los Angeles County.
• The mobile dental clinic will be professionally staffed by three experienced dentists, a trilingual (English, Spanish, Tagalog) dental hygienist, and three dental assistants, two of whom are bilingual (English and Spanish).
• The mobile clinic is currently scheduled to provide services in Claremont, Lancaster, Pasadena, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Whittier.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.
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