Swope Health’s mission has always been to deliver accessible, quality, comprehensive patient care to the community – and the health center has taken that a step further in recent years. With the acquisition of two Mobile Dental Units, Swope Health now goes directly to the underserved members of the community, primarily providing care to those in schools and homeless shelters.
Before the mobile program was created, Swope Health was making dental care visible in the community in other ways. Since becoming the Swope Health Director of Dental Outreach in 2020, Shawn Oprisiu has played a pivotal role in enhancing the dental care experience.
“When I got here, we had a pack-and-play process,” Oprisiu said. “We would go into schools and set up a clinic inside to serve the children. We had enough infrastructure to house a mobile unit, which was our main goal and why I was recruited here.”
After getting approval from senior leadership and the board of directors, Swope Health received a large grant from Delta Dental to help purchase the first MDU – which arrived in the fall of 2020. Swope Health needed to find and purchase a unit, install dental equipment inside, and paint it.
“I talked with people who were running mobile programs all over the country about what was good, what was bad, what they liked, and what they disliked,” she said. “We ultimately decided to partner with Farber Specialty Vehicles to provide the mobile unit to us. They built a beautiful unit, and then we delivered the rest of it.”
Resurrection Church was instrumental in Swope Health’s second MDU. Resurrection has an annual tradition of donating their entire Candlelight Christmas Eve Offering to fund Kansas City-based projects and assisted Swope Health in 2023. It took 15 months to complete the second MDU – which made its debut earlier this year.
“One day when we were out in the community, a couple of people from Resurrection saw the unit, toured it, and asked more about what we do,” she said. “The church was able to fund the second unit with their generous Christmas Eve offering.”
The MDU team has given a name to both Winnebago units, naming the original one Winnie and the newer one Willie. Now that there are two units, they have a new process to ensure patients get the most out of their experiences with Swope Health.
“Winnie has two dental hygienists, and a CSR, and a driver,” Swope Health Mobile Dental Unit Clinic Manager Martha Gutierrez said. “After we give cleanings and document the patients, Willie follows up with treatment a week or two later. Dr. Shea Durington goes out on the treatment days with her Dental assistant.”
Between September and May, the MDU serves children at schools in the Kansas City area. The MDU provides care to nearly 3,000 children annually and typically serves 20-30 children at each school.
“I act as an advocate for the children,” Gutierrez said. “They are registered before we get there, so I’m able to escort them onto the bus where they wait. I’m always going back and forth from the bus to get the kids on there to get seen.”
Swope Health will serve any school that reaches out about the services. There isn’t a limit to how far Swope Health’s MDU will travel. So far, it has traveled as far north as Excelsior Springs, Mo., and as far south as Olathe, Kan.
“I’m in contact with the schools and let them know what days are available for us to come on site,” Oprisiu said. “Once we book it, they start the process with the children by sending out registration to the entire school.”
There are no requirements for the children whom Swope Health’s MDU serves. Regardless of insurance status, anybody can be seen.
“If you’re uninsured, we have funding sources that offer financial assistance for dental services, such as the Kansas City Health Levy. We also have a program with MARC (Mid America Regional Council) that pays for uninsured kids to be seen,” she said.
While Swope Health’s MDU focuses primary on students during the school year, it also travels to homeless shelters during the summer. Willie and Winnie also travel to various community events throughout the year.
“We were out every weekend in August for back-to-school events and attended some major events for Juneteenth and Pride Month. It’s important for us to be out in the community and serve those who don’t have any other way to be seen,” Oprisiu said.
Interested in scheduling the Swope Health Mobile Medical Unit for a community event? To make the request, click here.
