Dental School receives funds for new clinic locations Released: Jan. 4, 2007 The Marquette University School of Dentistry will receive $1 million from the State of Wisconsin to prepare two new clinics that will provide dental care to low-income residents in Milwaukee. The grant is part of more than $4 million the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services is awarding to expand access to oral health. Dr. William Lobb, dean of the dental school, said Marquette intends to open two dental clinics – one on the north side of the city and the other on the south side. Marquette will lease nearly 4,000 square feet of space at the Parkway location of the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center. Ten dental chairs at the site, 2906 S. 20th St., are expected to serve more than 1,000 patients. Lobb said the university has also been exploring location options on Milwaukee north side. “Our primary concern is to provide quality dental care for individuals in underserved neighborhoods, especially those previously served by the Johnston and Coggs clinics,” Lobb said. The city closed those clinics in 2006 after federal funding was terminated. Marquette had served approximately 1,700 patients per year at the Johnston site and 900 at the Coggs clinic. The funding for the new clinic sites is allocated from the federal income augmentation funds made available through the Department of Health and Family Services. The one-time funding will help cover the cost of build-out, estimated at $125 per square foot, for two new clinic sites. The dental school will seek separate funding opportunities for new equipment since much of the equipment at the Johnston and Coggs clinics is over 20 years old and in some cases beyond repair.   Marquette’s School of Dentistry is one of the state’s largest dental Medicaid providers, serving more than 6,700 Medicaid patients alone annually.  In 2005-06, Marquette dental clinics served more than 19,800 total patients statewide with over 84,000 patient visits. Many of these patients were on Title XIX or without insurance. Office of Marketing and Communication Contacts Mary Pat Pfeil Senior Director of University Communication Phone: (414) 288-7445 Send e-mail Anne Broeker Sr. Media Relations Specialist Phone: (414) 288-0286 Send e-mail