Expands dental access for American Indians/Alaska Natives in rural Olympic Peninsula.
La Push, WA–American Indians/Alaska Natives and children from lower-income families on the Olympic Peninsula will have more options for dental care. The Quileute Tribal Council received a $140,000 grant from Arcora Foundation to update dental capacity at their health center.
Quileute Health Center (QHC) will use the funds to replace decades old equipment, including 3 dental treatment areas and a sterilization station. Currently, just 2 of the 3 areas are operational, limiting the clinic’s ability to treat patients. The new equipment will allow the QHC dental clinic to serve an additional 287 patients a year.
“Our health center plays a vital role in addressing critical oral health care needs in our community,” said Quileute Tribal Council Chairman Douglas Woodruff Jr. “Arcora Foundation’s support and partnership mean even more people will have a chance to live healthier and fuller lives through improved oral health.”
People who receive care at the QHC dental clinic include all enrolled Quileute members, members from the other 573 federally recognized tribes and the descendants of enrolled tribal members. The clinic also serves children with Apple Health (Medicaid) in La Push and surrounding communities to help address unmet oral health needs.
“Beyond the updates to the dental clinic, this grant is a meaningful commitment to expand access to care for people the Quileute Health Center serves, so no one is left behind,” said Arcora Foundation President and CEO Vanetta Abdellatif. “Arcora is proud to partner with the Quileute Nation to ensure more people—especially those who have been historically underinvested in—can access the care they need when, where and how they need it.”
The QHC dental clinic is scheduled to have fully expanded capacity by early 2025.
In Clallam County, parts of the Olympic Peninsula have pockets of dental professional shortages according to federal data. Tribal clinics like QHC provide essential oral and overall health services to address historical dental health disparities, which disproportionately persist among American Indians/Alaska Natives and lower-income households.
The capital grant to QHC is among 3 that Arcora Foundation awarded totaling $340,000. Kalispel Tribe of Indians’ Camas Center Medical and Dental Clinic, another Native health center, received a $130,000 grant. The other went to One Community Health ($70,000), a community health center.
About the Quileute Tribe
Quileute Nation is a federally recognized tribe on the western coast of Clallam County at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in remote La Push. Applying a collaborative patient care approach, the Quileute Health Center (QHC) provides comprehensive primary medical, dental, behavioral health, substance use services and specialty care for people all ages. Its dental clinic focuses in caring for tribal members and lower-income neighbors.
About Arcora Foundation
Arcora Foundation advances oral health across Washington state. We are the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington, and the state’s largest foundation dedicated to this cause. We lead with equity in our work to achieve good oral health for all. Through partnerships, we focus our prevention and access priorities on racial and ethnic communities—specifically Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—where disparities in oral disease and access to care are significant. Our mission is in our name: bending the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more at ArcoraFoundation.org.
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We can’t do this work without you. Advancing oral health requires public and private partnerships, policy advocacy, and funding. Join us in our mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more and contact us at info@arcorafoundation.org.