A large corporate donation of $150,000 to United Way of Greater Atlanta helped support the Healthy Communities initiative, which helps underserved people in Fayette County gain better access to primary health care. Other counties benefitting from the corporate support include Butts, Cherokee, Coweta, Douglas and Rockdale counties.
The donation enabled United Way to give The Fayette CARE Clinic, located in Fayetteville, a grant to hire a dentist and dental assistant, allowing them to serve 100 new dental patients. Before receiving the funds, more than 200 individuals were on the waiting list for dental services.
Services will range from basic, preventive care to more complex procedures, such as extractions. In addition, the staff will provide patient education and instruction on how to perform daily protective dental hygiene.
Healthy Communities is part of a larger initiative to identify areas where access to care is a major concern and work with local community partners and advocates to create solutions.
“With our Healthy Communities initiative, we are working hand in hand with counties to remove roadblocks to quality care for the uninsured and underinsured,” says Milton J. Little, Jr., president and CEO of United Way.
Over the last four years, Healthy Communities projects have helped to create new access points for the uninsured and increased access for more than 7,700 patients. The programs typically focus on creating new services that do not exist in a county or expanding existing services to meet emerging needs.
