For Immediate Release

Contact:

Bobby Maldonado

248-858-6662

Bobby.Maldonado@stjoeshealth.org

April 5, 2018

Dental residency program grows to help meet patient demand

PONTIAC, Mich. (April 5, 2018) – St. Joseph Mercy Oakland’s Mercy Dental Center began treating patients in its newly expanded 1,744 square-foot facility located inside the main hospital. The new dental center, which is more than twice the size of the one it replaces, has five treatment rooms, including one that can adapt to better treat wheelchair-bound patients. In conjunction with the facility opening and to help meet patient demand, the hospital also plans to expand its General Dental Residency Program from three to four residents, beginning in the summer of 2018.

“In treating patients with barriers to comprehensive dental care, the Mercy Dental Center fills a gap that unfortunately exists in Oakland County,” said Shannon Striebich, president of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland. “The opening of the new, expanded dental center means that many more patients will receive quality care not available to them elsewhere in our community.”

In 2017, the Mercy Dental Center treated 650 patients for preventive services and restored more than 400 teeth. Many patients required services that are only accessible within a safe hospital setting due to their medical and physical condition, or due to special needs considerations.

The Mercy Dental Center opened in July 2011, when St. Joe's re-established its General Dental Residency Program, an optional year of training for recent dental graduates. The teaching facility offers residents and attending dentists the opportunity to provide a broad range of procedures. It is the only private, hospital-based general dental residency program in the State of Michigan.

“The expanded dental center allows us to provide excellent care for our patients while also training the dentists of tomorrow,” said Craig Spangler, DDS, program director of the St. Joe’s Dental Residency Program and chairman of the Division of Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. “With the active involvement of our volunteer attending dentists and specialists, we are providing a learning experience that residents won't receive anywhere else.”

The Mercy Dental Center expansion project was supported with philanthropy dollars. A challenge grant was generously donated by a local family foundation to help inspire gifts from other foundations, donors and friends of the hospital.

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System is home to dental clinics throughout southeastern Michigan, including the

Washtenaw County Dental Clinic, a collaboration between Washtenaw County Public Health and St. Joseph

Mercy Ann Arbor, and the Livingston County Dental Clinic, a collaboration between the Livingston County Department of Public Health and St. Joseph Mercy Livingston.

About St. Joseph Mercy Oakland

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland is a 443-bed community teaching hospital and a long-time leader in health care in Oakland County. Founded in 1927 by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland has won numerous local and national awards for patient safety, quality and performance, and consistently ranks in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide. A member of the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland is a technologically leading hospital that combines advanced medicine and personal care to assist patients on their path to wellness. With dedicated physicians, nurses and hospital staff committed to providing quality care throughout the patient stay, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland has truly personalized the patient care experience.

For more information about health services offered at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, please visit stjoesoakland.org.

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $2 billion and returns about $120 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.

SJMHS is a member of Trinity Health, a leading Catholic health care system based in Livonia, Mich. Trinity Health operates in 22 states, employs about 131,000 colleagues, has annual operating revenues of $17.6 billion and assets of about $24.6 billion. Additionally, the organization returns almost $1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs.

For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit www.stjoeshealth.org.

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