Homeless Dental Program Van

HCHD Foundation focus on Healthcare for the Homeless and Dr. Matthew W. Plummer, Jr.

Harris Health System’s Healthcare for the Homeless (HCH) Program currently provides dental care, as well as a variety of preventive and primary healthcare services to homeless individuals at 10 partnering shelter-based clinics via mobile health and dental units. The HCH mobile health and dental program also provides medical related eligibility and registration services at 14 homeless shelter locations in the greater Houston area.

Good news was announced when members of the Board of Trustees of Harris County Hospital District Foundation toured Harris Health System’s new Mobile Dental unit which has upgraded features such as wireless internet capabilities and digital X-ray units – both of which communicate with the EPIC patient records system, an integrated electronic medical record system allowing for off-site medical providers and team members to have instant access to progress notes, test results, referrals, and messaging.  The medical unit also has new computers, sinks and refrigeration. A diesel engine and heavy chassis will help the van last longer on Houston’s local streets.

Dr. Matthew W. Plummer, Jr. implemented the first Harris Health System Mobile Dental Van in 2004, designing it to meet the needs of an increasing homeless population. With his compassionate and dedicated spirit, he managed the two-chair van for 12 years, visiting homeless shelters 4 days a week and staying at a particular shelter until all patients requesting services had been seen before heading to the next shelter.

Harris Health System uses funds efficiently to provide invaluable healthcare services to the population of Harris County and acts as a first-line safety net system by diagnosing illnesses early and preventing disease from spreading county-wide,” said Dr. Matthew W. Plummer, Jr., Professor and Chief of Community Dentistry, Harris Health System, and Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Harris County Hospital District Foundation.

Dr. Plummer’s relationship with Harris Health System, then the Harris County Hospital District, began in 1981 when he responded to a newspaper ad proposal for dental services. With his background in public health and community dentistry, he was central to the development, implementation, and expansion of the Harris Health System’s Dental Program, which includes the Dental Center located at 5230 Griggs Road and eight health centers — Aldine, Acres Home, El Franco Lee, Gulfgate, MLKSettegast, Strawberry and Vallbona. All locations serve the preventive and restorative dental care needs of Harris County with an array of services, including regular examinations, cleanings, fillings and extractions, as well as full and partial dentures. Dental treatment patients are referred by their primary care physician – as is the case for all specialty services.

Dr. Plummer’s Mobile Dental Van was a catalyst to the growing emphasis on caring for homeless individuals with much-needed expanding services. From his vision, the Healthcare for the Homeless Program was created. The Healthcare for the Homeless Program provides dental care and a variety of preventive and primary healthcare services to homeless individuals through 10 shelter-based clinics and through these mobile health and dental units. The program also provides eligibility and registration services through 13 homeless shelter locations in the greater Houston area. Through a number of strategic partnerships, the program also provides on-site mental health and substance abuse counseling.

Health requirements of the homeless are significant and the need for service far outweighs the ability to provide (the service), “said Dr. Plummer, who believes in a relatively short timeframe, he can make a significant difference in a patient’s self-esteem and personality, quickly and inexpensively. This is one of the many reasons why he chose the field of dentistry for his life’s work. The homeless programs supported via mobile units have a goal of getting these individuals and families back into the mainstream of society with health, education, and tools for housing and job placement. Appearance and self-esteem for homeless individuals is a major piece of the plans.

Over the past 12 years, the Harris Health System mobile dental unit logged 300,000 miles, all within Harris County, Texas. Repairs to the aged vehicle were beginning to mount; $23,549 in 2014 and $7,000 before midyear 2015. The unit was out of service for a total of 36 work week days in 2014 resulting in an estimated 200 patients that missed out on receiving services. It was apparent the Healthcare for the Homeless Program needed a new mobile medical unit that was dependable and predictable to allow for regular schedules that persons experiencing homelessness could rely on to obtain healthcare.

Studies have found that people experiencing chronic homelessness cost the public between $30,000 and $50,000 per person per year through their repeated use of emergency rooms, hospitals, jails, psychiatric centers, detox and other crisis services – the  use of which make little improvements to their health and well-being. The Healthcare for the Homeless Program reduces or eliminates barriers to healthcare experienced by homeless individuals, enables healthcare problems to be detected and treated early, decreases emergency center use for primary care needs, increases immunization rates of homeless children, increases tuberculin screening and follow-up, and increases health promotion and prevention education among the homeless in our community.

Friendly and jovial with an extraordinary love for all people, Dr. Plummer believes that by keeping the indigent population healthy, we protect the rest of the community. Prevention and treatment go hand-in-hand. Harris Health System’s Healthcare for the Homeless Program is committed to serving the most vulnerable populations by extending healthcare to impoverished people through mobile outreach, with the ultimate goal of facilitating access to more comprehensive care.

Watch for the new dental van – it is 40 feet long and the exterior will soon be “wrapped” in the Harris Health System logo with a thank you to our donors who made this new dental van for the homeless possible.

What does Dr. Plummer wish others knew about the Harris Health System? “Harris Health System is on the frontlines of disease control and response when outbreaks occur in Harris County,” says Dr. Plummer. “And due to an ever increasing patient population, the need in our county far outweighs our ability to provide. Any donation, large or small to the HCHD Foundation, allows Harris Health System to provide for the needs of our uninsured, underserved and indigent population.”

A big thank you to Dr. Plummer for taking the lead in this project.

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