Hamilton has 300 low-income seniors waiting for dental care
The wait list for a public health program that provides dental care to low-income seniors has climbed to 300 Hamiltonians over the course of the pandemic.
Exams are now being booked five months out in Hamilton for the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program (OSDCP), which is funded by the province. It provides comprehensive dental care to individual seniors age 65 and older with an annual income of $22,200 or less and no other coverage. For couples, the cut off is $37,100 a year.
It's not excellent to hear 300 seniors are on the wait list but that is how popular and most-needed this program is for our community," Coun. Tom Jackson said during a board of health meeting on Monday. Often the importance of oral health as people get older is forgotten and how important it is to self-esteem and to their overall health."
To help ease the wait list, public health plans to expand the existing clinic at 891 Upper James St. with construction starting in the last three months of 2023. The province has already approved funding for the build and it's expected to be completed within four to six months.
The program remains in high demand because of the backlog of services that occurred during the COVID redeployment," said Jennifer Vickers-Manzin, director of healthy families at public health. We do have a bit of a wait list for services so this expansion will be a real asset."
The expansion will significantly increase seniors dental services at the clinic to five days a week from the current one day a week.
During the past two years OSDCP services have been reduced due to the diversion of resources to the pandemic response," stated an information report to the board. As a result of service delays and high need, a wait list for OSDCP services exists. Increased clinic space will increase capacity to provide much-needed dental services for this population."
During construction, services provided at the Upper James clinic will be temporarily moved. The seniors dental program is also available at PHS Robert Thomson Building dental clinic, Urban Core Community Health Centre, Centre De Sante Communautaire and Public Health Services' East End Clinic.
We have chosen those locations very carefully based on areas of the city where we see pockets of low-income seniors to help ease access to those services," said Vickers-Manzin.
In addition, the Seniors' Dental Health Bus goes to Binbrook Library, Harry Howell Arena, Sackville Seniors Centre, Olympic Westoby Arena and Morgan Firestone Arena.
Between all the sites, the program provided roughly 5,000 appointments to 4,000 Hamilton seniors in 2022.
Another way the city hopes to expand the program is by re-establishing a pilot project cut during COVID that would see the bus bring dental care to long-term care homes Macassa and Wentworth lodges.
Public health also runs a dental program for low-income adults with no other coverage that is funded by the city and Healthy Smiles Ontario, which is a free dental program that is paid for by the province for kids age 17 and younger from low-income families.
The program for kids is run out of the Upper James Street clinic as well and will benefit from the expansion. In addition, the construction will see consultation services at a sexual health clinic brought back to the site after being halted during the pandemic. Vaccine clinic services at the site will transition from weekly to ad hoc services in the evenings and weekends.
Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com