Two organizations recently bestowed awards on the UNLV School of Dental Medicine for its community outreach programs and clinics.

Nevada Medical Center presented the school with one of its two inaugural Eric M. Hilton Healthcare Collaboration awards, which recognizes organizations that find actionable and timely solutions for the state’s most pressing health care needs, with a particular focus on preventative care. Nevada Medical Center is a non-profit corporation created for the purpose of enhancing the lives of all Nevadans and visitors through improved access to quality healthcare.

Delta Dental Community Care Foundation gave a $50,000 grant to support the school’s Saturday Morning Community Clinics, which provide much needed care to underinsured and uninsured populations throughout Southern Nevada.

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental Insurance Company and its affiliated companies. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the oral health of disadvantaged children and adults by removing barriers to quality dental care.

The clinics will be renamed as the UNLV Delta Dental Saturday Morning Community Clinics for the duration of 2019. The grant will support the purchase of dental supplies such as crowns and bridges, and will be applied to treatment and procedure costs.

The UNLV Delta Dental Saturday Morning Community Clinics, which typically occur ten months out of each year, conduct nearly 70,000 patient visits that, during 2018, delivered more than $6 million in free services to underserved populations, including veterans, women, children and homeless persons.

Photo: Dental students at Community Clinic, provided by UNLV School of Dental Medicine