The Collaboration of Health Specialties

One of the best aspects of working at a community health center is the collaboration of health specialties. A hot topic amongst the healthcare community is the need to increase collaboration of specialties to increase optimal patient care. However, this collaboration occurs in many multidisciplinary community health centers on a daily basis. Patients usually visit the same community health center for medical and dental care. Hence, providers are able to care for a patient collaboratively. Examples of this include consulting with medical providers to determine if anticoagulants should be held prior to invasive dental care or asking a nurse to check a diabetic patient’s blood glucose level.

In addition to medical and dental providers, pharmacists, behavioral health specialists and other members of the healthcare community can be found at your local CHC. Community health centers are quickly transforming into patient healthcare homes. CHCs allow patients to receive comprehensive healthcare services in their communities provided by dedicated clinicians.

The Importance of Service: Venturing Outside of the Health Center

The summer months are generally quite busy. In addition to recruiting dentists for the organization, I volunteer several hours with local organizations to promote healthcare.

For the past five years, I have participated in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Dental Careers Exploration Program sponsored by the School of Dentistry. The Dental Careers Exploration Program is offered to 10th, 11th and 12th grade students from the city of Richmond and Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties, who are interested in exploring a career in dentistry. In this intense two-week program, students are introduced to dental anatomy, operative dentistry and other essentials of the profession such as study skills and public speaking. I view this as an opportunity to expose these future healthcare providers to community health.

In the month of September, I speak at the Improvement Association’s yearly Head Start Orientation Program for the children of Brunswick County. In this orientation, I discuss the importance of dietary habits, proper oral hygiene/home care and lastly the importance of routine dental visits.

Involvement in your local community is another way to share the community health message ---- with future healthcare providers and patients.

Committing to Serve the Underserved Can Relieve Financial Burdens

As a former professor and relatively recent graduate myself, I know many dentists nationally who recently graduated from dental school are faced with an overwhelming debt burden. Dentists among many healthcare professionals have some of the highest student loan obligations due to the cost of dental education. In addition, many new practitioners in today’s economic climate are faced with dwindling job opportunities in private practice. It is clear that the salaries and benefits once offered by private practice are no longer sustainable in the Great Recession.

Many practitioners, including myself have been shielded from economic uncertainty due to our affiliation with community health centers. Health centers not only provide access for all, they also allow many health care practitioners the opportunity to receive loan repayment via state and federal programs. While private practices are experiencing slow times, community health centers are experiencing growth. Many patients who were previously seen in private practice are now seeking community health centers in times of need.

I have the benefit of caring for a community that appreciates the care I provide and loan repayment via the National Health Service Corps. In my opinion this is the best of both worlds.

Dr. Parris-Wilkins at work

Community Health Dentistry---The new “private practice”

There are many misconceptions on the part of students and private practitioners that community health dentistry does not provide a wide array of practice experiences. Last week I performed the following procedures:

1. Final impression for a full gold crown #31.
2. Pediatric well baby dental visit.
3. Pick up impression to add #23 to a mandibular acrylic partial.
4. Extraction of #17 and supernumerary 17 prime.
5. Referral to ENT after discovering enlarged lymph nodes on a head and neck examination.

This is in addition to performing many administrative duties like:

1. Interviewing potential dental candidates for a practice.
2. Approving order requests.
3. Monitoring clinical productivity of providers.
4. Training dental assistants, etc.

I find community health dentistry rewarding because the sliding scale fee enables me to provide care to many people who cannot afford private practice fees. Patients are so appreciative when they find a provider who is courteous, competent and affordable.

Want to know more about my love affair with community health dentistry?—Stay tuned!

Introducing Dr. Tonya Parris-Wilkins

Tonya A. Parris-Wilkins, D.D.S., F.A.A.H.D., M.A.G.D.

Dr. Parris Wilkins is the Dental Director of Central Virginia Health Services (CVHS) – the oldest and largest Community Health Center organization in Virginia. Maintaining an astounding level of direct patient care - 4 to 4.5 days per week - Dr. Parris-Wilkins also juggles the administrative complexities of supervising dental care for 10 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC’s), providing for many their only access to dental care. It’s good that Dr. Parris-Wilkins enjoys diversity and problem solving because as she describes it “a typical day is one that is not typical.”

Originally Dr. Parris-Wilkins had aspirations to be a physician – NOT a dentist. But thankfully, through a program in which she shadowed a physician and was rated if she was well suited to medical practice, she determined early she loved health sciences but not in that capacity. In the process of looking for something else in the healthcare area, a graduate advisor connected her with a local dentist affiliated with the University of Michigan and the match was huge success.

After competing her Doctor of Dental Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Parris-Wilkins went on to teach as an Associate Professor for three years, educating, mentoring, and inspiring a new crop of dentists. But when the unique opportunity to work at Central Virginia Community Health System opened up, Dr. Parris-Wilkins was thrilled and honored to be chosen as their Dental Director. Even better – Dr. Parris-Wilkins still feels that way after 4 years, providing direct care at Southside Health Center in Alberta, VA and managing sites in Alberta, Caroline, Charles City, Charlotte-Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Hopewell-Prince George, Louisa, Petersburg, New Canton, and Westmoreland.

In addition to juggling professional work at multiple sites, Dr. Parris-Wilkins is also a wife and mother with young children. Although Dr. Parris-Wilkins loves to be a “Jack of all trades” and has increased the quality and efficiency of dental care in her Community Health Centers, the balance of work and personal life is still a challenging process. Many of Dr. Parris-Wilkins accomplishments such as the Central Virginia Health Services Dental Digest, a quarterly teleconference schedule, and initiation of an annual dental department meeting including providers and supportive staff have all been instrumental in the 80% dental department productivity increase within 24 months.

One of the perks of the job, Dr. Parris-Wilkins met First Lady Michelle Obama when they were on a panel together at the Caroline Family Practice site last year. As both a mother and as a clinician serving the needs of the underserved, Dr. Parris-Wilkins felt a kindred spirit as they celebrated the opening of another Virginia Community Health Center improving access to care.