OPCA members like Wallace offer high-quality, low-cost care that is responsive to the needs of their community. At Wallace, staff across departments came together to create a new program to make kids healthier and to help adults feel a little less stressed. In spring 2022, Wallace launched Kids’ Days. These events bring Wallace’s medical and dental teams together on Saturdays to provide exams and treatment for their youngest patients.
Parents can bring their kids in for back-to-back medical and dental appointments, making Wallace their one-stop-shop for health basics. And by offering the event on a Saturday, Wallace ensured most parents would have the day off from work to manage the appointments.
Wallace’s Chief Medical Officer, Stuart Currie MD explained, “Dental pain is one of the biggest reasons children stay home from school, accounting for millions of lost school hours. Many families delayed doctors’ visits during the pandemic, and their medical needs have accumulated. But simply making it to our clinics for multiple weekday appointments can be a significant hurdle.” For many families, it’s a challenge to make, manage, and keep health appointments for everyone. “We’ve realized the best way we can help our patients is to provide as much care as possible in one appointment,” Dr. Currie said.
For families with multiple kids, the event’s benefits multiplied. One mother brought her three children, and Wallace provided three sets of medical and dental appointments. “It was a little frantic at times, but we all did our best to juggle everything and treat her family,” Wallace’s Dental Director, Kyle Geelan DDS, said.
“Now imagine, what would it look like if she was asked to take time off and arrange transportation for six separate midweek appointments? It would’ve been nearly impossible.”
Wallace has been keeping families in good health for nearly 40 years and their Kids’ Days are their latest tool to make care more accessible than ever.
Sidenote:
At health centers, at least 51% of their board members must be patients served by the health center, and non-patient board members must be representative of the community.
