Hudson River Valley
Hudson River HealthCare, Inc.’s (HRHC) Peekskill Community Health Center
, located in the scenic Hudson River Valley region of northern Westchester County, is situated just one hour north of Manhattan. Peekskill Community Health Center is the first and largest site within HRHC’s 14 site network. Other HRHC locations providing onsite dental facilities include Beacon, Goshen, Walden, and Poughkeepsie. A mobile dental unit with two fully equipped dental operatories serves patient populations at sites still awaiting onsite dental services.
HRHC is a patient-focused, family-oriented network of community and migrant health centers, actively involved in innovative community health care programs. The Peekskill dental program includes a portable, school-based preventive dental service that rotates within the city’s public/parochial elementary and middle schools. Weekly fluoride rinsing and dental sealant applications have been delivered to participating students for the past 20 years with data-based evidence of a 50 percent reduction in the rate of dental caries compared to nonparticipating peers.
Over 7,000 dental visits take place each year at the Peekskill site alone, which has over 4,000 active patients in its practice. The dental department gives priority to treating children, homeless families, HIV-infected individuals, and populations with special needs. There are five modern, well-equipped dental operatories, each networked with digital radiography, and staffed by general dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dental patient representatives. The organization is committed to providing primary oral health care held to the highest standards for the underserved and vulnerable populations of its communities. Dental residents have wide exposure to oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and removable prosthodontics. Endodontics, fixed prosthetics, and esthetic dentistry are less available with limited exposure. Internet, web-based conferencing is in place at several of HRHC’s 14 sites, allowing videoconferencing and interconnectivity to Lutheran Medical Center’s AEGD residency’s home base in Brooklyn, NY.
Open Door Family Medical Center has been providing superior, affordable primary medical services to residents of Westchester County for more than 30 years. These modern state-of-the-art facilities serve the areas in and around Ossining and Sleepy Hollow on the Hudson River, east to Rye Brook and on to Port Chester on Long Island Sound. Open Door, accredited by JCAHO, operates as a family practice and treats the entire family from birth to senior years. It sponsors a strong school-based health program. The dental facility in Ossining has eight chairs and a new eight-chair facility opened in 2006 in Port Chester, which is experiencing a burgeoning Hispanic community. The new facility has electronic patient records and digital radiography and should appeal to new residents. A new smaller dental center will open in Sleepy Hollow in 2007. A total of six full-time equivalent general dentists provide primary dental care focused on their special areas of clinical expertise such as removable prosthodontics; they are supported by a part-time pediatric dentist, three dental hygienists, and four dental assistants. A trip to this scenic region is 45 minutes by train from Grand Central Station in Manhattan.
“The Dental Department at ECHC can bring out the sunshine in your smile.”
Opened in 1995, Ezras Choilim Health Center lies just northwest of New York City. It is located in Kiryas Joel in Monroe, NY. The center offers a comprehensive range of health services both to the Hasidic Jewish and surrounding communities. Many of the patients speak Yiddish. The services include general medicine, cardiology, pediatrics, women’s health care, gastroenterology, dermatology, nutrition, and speech therapy. The medical staff comprises a mix of full- and part-time physicians, dentists, nurses, physicians’ assistants, nurse midwives, nutritionists, and therapists. A Federally qualified health center, Ezras Choilim is assessed by the State of New York. It is affiliated with Nyack Hospital and Orange Regional Medical Center.
The modern dental facility contains nine state-of-the-art operatories. The staff includes nine dentists, a dental hygienist, and a part-time oral and maxillofacial surgeon. There is a dental assistant for each dentist and a supervising assistant. The center provides a full range of restorative dentistry and endodontics. During weekly meetings, the staff reviews cases and clinical policies and procedures. Residents will have a well-rounded experience in general dentistry working in an efficient and friendly environment with an international dental team. The health center observes the Jewish Sabbath, closing at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and opening on Sunday morning.
The Hudson River Valley
Explored by Henry Hudson in 1609, the Hudson River Valley stretches north from New York City to its source 315 miles north in the Adirondack Mountains. Its bucolic rural landscape is never far away from old industrial towns or small villages. Dramatic cliffs formed by glaciers, especially the Palisades and Hudson Highlands, drop down to the river and farms and estates dot the countryside. Towns such as Ossining consider the river its lifeblood. Home to the legendary Sleepy Hollow and West Point, the area offers myriad recreational activities and sites for antiques, wineries, and artisans.
Lower Hudson River Valley
Anna D’Emilio, DDS
AEGD Director
© 2006 Lutheran Medical Center Department of Dental Medicine