YADKINVILLE
A new dental clinic for the poor has opened on the campus of Hoots Memorial Hospital in Yadkinville.
It is the first time that Yadkin County has operated such a clinic, officials said.
"We are targeting Medicaid children up to 21 years of age. We will also serve adult Medicaid and self-pays," said Mike Reavis, Yadkin County's health director.
County officials opened the clinic inside a county-owned modular building next to the hospital in late November.
Much of it has been paid for by a $149,000 grant from the N.C. Office of Rural Health and a $221,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
Dr. Ronald Logan, a Winston-Salem dentist, has been seeing patients there two days a week. Another dentist, Dr. Stacy Sullivan of Lewisville, is expected to start practicing at the clinic three days a week starting Jan. 20.
The clinic also employs a full-time dental hygienist and dental assistant.
Before the clinic opened, the only other dental clinic in Yadkin that accepted a large number of Medicaid and Medicare patients was one in the Wyo community run by Dr. Keith Phillips.
His clinic will stay open, but he is also pitching in where needed to help with the new clinic.
"It's abysmal the amount of people without dental care," said Kim Clark Phillips, his wife and a former county commissioner. "You'd be amazed at how many kids who are in pain.… The preventative care doesn't happen for lots of reasons. A lot of it is lack of access."
■ The new clinic in Yadkinville is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For an appointment, call 336-849-7777.
■ Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at 336-918-6119 or at syoungquist@wsjournal.com.
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