Recognition has been granted to a local nonprofit whose mission is to help those in need with their dental health.

The VINA Community Dental Center was recently recognized by the American Dental Association as a Model Emergency Dental Program. Board Vice President Dr. Ronald Paler, Executive Director Barbara Colley, and Marketing & Development Director Jim Gilmore gave a webinar presentation to several hundred ADA members regarding the Emergency Dental Referral Program VINA has developed and implemented with local hospital emergency rooms and urgent care facilities. Carlos Jones, Coordinator, Action for Dental Health for the ADA commented, “We’re glad there are folks like VINA out there helping people and creating change in their community.”

VINA receives and treats over 150 Emergency Dental cases annually. Officials say the partnership allows local emergency rooms and urgent care facilities to allocate their resources more effectively and grows the patient population of VINA, which stands for Vision, Integrity, Need, and Action. The VINA Community Dental Center of Livingston County is a nonprofit outreach facility founded in 2008 that provides affordable dental care and quality dental education to Livingston County residents with limited finances.

VINA, which treats over 1,500 patients annually from their facility on E. Grand River in Brighton, seeks to improve quality of life through better oral health, promoting dental care seeking behaviors, and elevating prevention awareness. (JK)