| The Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey
Foundation recently donated $50,000 to help fund a new
dental assistant training program at the Paterson School
District's Health and Related Professions Academy
(HARP). "Delta Dental
came to us with the possibility of start-up funding for
our new vocational program, which is very unusual,"
says Maria Workman, RDH, MS, coordinator of Dental
Services for the Paterson School District. "Having
Delta Dental come forth to make this a reality is well
beyond our expectations."
Delta Dental's donation provided
the classroom with a fully functioning dental operatory,
which includes a dental chair, compressor, suction unit
and dental instruments. Funds were also used to purchase
computer stations, dental software, printers, scanners,
educational videos, TV/VCRs, and other small dental lab
materials necessary for the program.
"Community outreach is an
integral part of our business operation," explained
Walter VanBrunt, Delta Dental's president and CEO.
"For this donation, we sought out a school district
where funding was most needed and where it could have
the greatest impact. Our financial commitment to the
Paterson training program means that its students will
have the resources they need to learn their trade and
develop invaluable skills."
Delta Dental also is funding a
scholarship program, which will grant a yearly $1,000 to
$1,500 scholarship to a graduating senior in the
Paterson School District's dental assistant program. The
scholarship will be used to help the student complete
his/her certification.
The dental assistant program provides
students with vocational classes that are linked to an
American Dental Association (ADA) accredited
post-secondary program. Students earn high school
credits, as well as credits that can be transferred to
an accredited dental assistant program at the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). All
classroom instruction is conducted in the HARP Academy,
while the practical applications are done in the
school's fully operational, four-chair dental clinic.
Teachers who are adjunct professors at UMDNJ instruct
classes.
The HARP academy is one of
Paterson's six magnet schools. Other academy programs
include a registered nurse assistant program and a
pharmacy assistant program. The programs are designed to
provide students with skills that will make them
employable as well as opportunities to reinforce those
skills in a work environment.
The Paterson School District also
offers a comprehensive dental care clinic for students
who would not otherwise be able to afford care. The
district found that dental health has an impact on
learning, and that dental neglect plays a large role in
absenteeism. Based upon these findings, the district
schedules dental visits four days each week from
September through July, with more than 3,000 visits
scheduled each year.
Delta Dental established the Delta
Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation in 1986. Its
mission includes promoting and assisting educational
projects devoted to the enhancement of dental health,
research programs designed to increase public awareness
of the general benefits of good health, and to improve
dental health through the science of dentistry. Each
year, the Delta Dental Foundation provides financial
support to various organizations throughout New Jersey.
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