Signature Health Awarded $300,000 Grant to Provide Dental Services in Ashtabula, Ohio
Posted on:
Cleveland, OH (Sept. 20, 2019) - Cleveland-based Signature Health, a community agency providing primary medical care, mental health, and substance abuse services, is thrilled to announce they have been selected as one of 300 national grant winners by the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA) to provide dental services in under-serviced areas.
The $300,000 grant awarded to Signature Health will allow them to provide dental services in Ashtabula, OH, an area with a severe dental service shortage. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) since 2016, Signature Health has been able to expand their services beyond mental and behavioral health to include primary care. The addition of dental services at the Ashtabula facility adds yet another level to care and enables each patient that walks through the doors at Signature Health to be treated comprehensively.
CEO of Signature Health, Jonathan Lee, explains the importance of this dental grant- “The grant we received from the HRSA to provide dental services in Ashtabula really speaks to our agency’s mission of putting good health within reach of all our community members by providing comprehensive health care services,” said Lee. “At the end of the day, our vision is a community without health disparities, and this grant takes us one step closer to achieving that.”
Signature Health accepts both Medicaid and Medicare. According to the American Dental Association, only 38% of dentists in the U.S. accept Medicaid or Medicare. Being able to offer dental services in the Ashtabula community, and accepting a variety of payment options, will create a life-changing opportunity for Signature Health patients. In addition, patients who do not have insurance are billed based on a sliding income scale and those who choose to pay in full at the time of their appointment receive a 50% discount.
Signature Health plans to begin using their grant dollars beginning January of 2020 and hopes to start offering dental services by this time next year.