The New Murphy Center Children's Clinic

CASS has already officially started our CARIES PREVENTION PROGRAM for serving the Murphy School District community. BUT, we are presently treating the children from Murphy at the CASS Clinic. Our goal is to treat the children on-site at the Murphy Education and Health Center.

trailer

We have a temporary trailer in place at Murphy and are very close to moving the program on-site. We just need a little more time and resources and the trailer will be up and running. After the program has moved to serving the children on-site at the trailer, we will then work on building the permanent clinic inside the Murphy Center.

 

If you would like to see a short video about Murphy please go to:
Murphy/ Phoenix Rotary 100 Education & Health Center

To Donate...Simply Visit My Florist Café

To open the new clinic, we just need $5,000. An entertaining way to help us open the new clinic is to enjoy a bottle of wine at My Florist Café. David Lacy, owner, and Keith Lukasavage, manager, of My Florist Café are donating $5 dollars for every bottle of wine purchased at the Café, until we reach our $5,000 goal.

My Florist Cafe is located on the NE Corner of 7th Ave and McDowell. (602) 254-0333.

 

*If you would like to donate online to the new on-site CASS Clinic at the Murphy Center, please click here

 

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For those of you who would like to know the specifics of the New CASS Clinic at Murphy, please read below.



There are about 20,000 people living in South Phoenix's Murphy School District area. The school district is located in one of the poorest and one of the most medically under-served areas of Metropolitan Phoenix. Ninety percent of district residents are of Latino origin and approximately 50% do not have access to any type of affordable health care. Drug use and crime are rampant in the impoverished neighborhoods. The earlier the children can be kept away from these situations, the lower the risk is that they will get involved as teenagers. The Murphy School District Education and Health Center being developed will provide preventive health care to children ages 0-13, while at the same time providing health education and other services to the entire community. The Center will collaborate with the local school board, some of the city's social agencies, the local naturopathic college and a variety of local NGOs to create a model solution for neighborhoods in similar situations around the world. The Center will provide a holistic approach and will be adaptable for different economic and environmental settings.

 

CASS Dental Clinic and Murphy School District Collaboration for on-site preventive dental services: The Murphy School District is pro-actively meeting the medical and educational needs of the school district and the surrounding community. The Murphy School District Education and Health Center (http://www.msdaz.org/edcenter/) is being established and officially opened in January 2009. Services are just beginning as of July, 2009. It will be a health program located on the school campus that will include dental services. Students will receive a dental assessment and dental sealants and will then be transported as needed to the CASS Dental Clinic for more comprehensive care and treatment.

 

The Center will serve the whole child and the larger community. It is a connection point from the home to a source for health and lifelong achievement; a place of community pride, hope and
celebration; a place where sustainable, renewable energy is utilized, and environmental
preservation is valued and exemplified. Parenting classes, financial classes, nutrition and health classes will help to educate the community. The Center is strictly devoted to:

- Adding value to the quality of life for all students, families and community members;
- Meeting the health and education challenges in the Murphy Community;
- Cultivating each person's potential through educational services and cultural programs;
- Recognizing the proud heritage and rich traditions of the Murphy Community; and
- Teaching the global value of responsibility to the earth's environment through the application of sustainable, renewable energy sources and the use of non-toxic materials.

 

CASS Dental Clinic and Murphy School District are entering into a partnership to provide comprehensive free dental services at the Center. In accordance with a new Affiliated Practice Act signed into law in the Spring of 2004, CASS is preparing to set up an Affiliated Practice within the new education and medical complex. This bill creates a new opportunity for dentists and dental hygienists to expand the traditional walls of a dental practice through the creation of an affiliated practice relationship (APR). Through this APR, hygienists can provide preventive oral health services (fluoride, cleanings, sealants, etc.) to qualified children in a variety of community-based health and educational settings without a prior examination by a dentist. It allows the most underserved children access to preventive services at an earlier age and in a convenient setting (Head Start Program, school, etc.). It also provides an opportunity for early referral to dental services.

 

Taking advantage of the new Act, CASS will furnish a new 3 chair dental clinic within allotted space at the medical complex. Initially CASS will start the program in a 2 chair trailer, provided by the Office of Oral Health of the State of Arizona. This is the same manner in which CASS started its original clinic. CASS will keep this arrangement for the foreseeable future, in anticipation of expanding the permanent clinic to a 6 to 8 chair arrangement within 3 to 5 years as the space becomes available. This new clinic's focus will be preventive in nature. The on-site hygienist is able to treat each student several times a year with preventive measures such as fluoride, cleanings, and sealants. If needed for consultation, the volunteer hygienist will have direct access to Dr. Kris Volcheck, the director of the CASS Dental Clinic. If dental work such as fillings or crowns is required, the hygienist is then able to directly refer the patient to the CASS Dental Clinic on the Human Services Campus.

 

Anticipated Results: The clinic will run 5 days per week and serve approximately 20 children per day. In children, dental pain can lead to lost sleep, unwillingness to eat, inability to focus, and decreased physical activity, all of which lead to poor school performance. The focus on prevention of caries in this underserved population will reap long term oral health benefits. Children will perform better in school and experience better overall health. Preventive dental services will drastically lower the costs of future dental problems. Our focus on preventive dental services fits well with Murphy School District's comprehensive approach to healthcare.