> Local News > Springfield > Chicopee 'Oral Health Heroes'
Chicopee 'Oral Health Heroes'
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Valley Opportunity Council's Mark Lenonas and Steve Huntely were honored at the Oral Health Heroes Awards by Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette and Dr. Frank Robinson of Partners for a Healthier Coommunity last week. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs
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By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
SPRINGFIELD The groups of preschool children from the New North Citizens Council daycare program who sang nursery songs such as "If You're Happy and You Know it Brush Your Teeth" helped bring home the reason for BEST -- Bringing Early Education Screening and Treatment -- according to Dr. Frank Robinson, executive director of Partners for a Healthier Community and chair of the Statewide Oral Health Advocacy Task Force.
Area health officials, dental care providers, representatives from social service agencies and elected officials gathered Friday morning at the Greek Cultural Center to honor this year's "Oral Health Heroes."
BEST is a state-funded community-based collaborative approach to delivering dental services to infants, toddlers and preschoolers in Hampden County. The program operates in 11 cities and towns and has served 4,000 children and families in its two-year history.
While an estimated 44 million Americans lack medical insurance, about 108 million do not have dental insurance. Uninsured children are over two times less likely to receive dental care than insured children.
State Rep. John Scibak, co-chair of the Oral Health Caucus, emphasized the importance of proper dental care by relating a story about how an untreated abscessed tooth led to the eight-day intensive care hospitalization for one Massachusetts resident who didn't have access to dental care.
"Let's eradicate this problem," Scibak said. "It's better for society and cheaper as a whole."
Those honored as Oral Health Heroes at the event included:
State Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, co-chair of the Oral Health Caucus
Springfield Department of Health & Human Services "No Tooth Left Behind" Dental Clinic
Valley Opportunity Council Inc. Chicopee/Holyoke
Heather Cone, infant/toddler supervisor, Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield
Lori Doppman, project assistant, Tufts Community Dental Program
Rose Ihedigbo, Early Intervention director, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Mark Lenonas, preschool coordinator, Valley Opportunity Council Inc. Chicopee/Holyoke
Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he grew up in the Brightwood section of Springfield and explained that he knew what it was like to be a child and not have regular preventive visits to the dentist. He applauded Scibak and Coakley-Rivera for the work they are doing in the Legislature to address dental health issues in the Commonwealth.
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> Local News > Springfield > Chicopee 'Oral Health Heroes'
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