Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - this project includes renovation/construction and capital equipment for the new oral health care clinic and dental skills…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - this project includes renovation/construction and capital equipment for the new oral health care clinic and dental skills lab at colorado mountain college's vail valley at edwards campus located in eagle county, on colorado's rural western slope. The facility will include 10 dental chairs and a fully equipped 5,382 square feet of program space in which students enrolled in CMC's newly established associate of applied science (AAS) dental hygiene degree will serve alongside a dentist provided by clinic partner mountain family health centers (mfhc). Under the supervision of this dentist, the dental hygiene students will provide preventative services to patients in the clinic while earning a high-demand, high-wage degree. CMC's program will enroll 10 students per cohort, with two cohorts annually (20 students per year). This program will address a critical workforce shortage in colorado by increasing the number of registered dental hygienists for independent and public and private clinics across the region and state. In addition, the new facility will allow for a significant increase in oral healthcare access in the region, allowing thousands of eagle county residents to receive preventive and treatment services, regardless of their income or insurance status. This program will address a significant GAP in access to care, with an estimated 7,400 low-income individuals who are currently underserved in eagle county and surrounding areas due to limited existing oral health care services, leading to significant health inequities. Partnership with mountain family health centers (mfhc), a federally qualified health center (fqhc), will allow the program to serve a significant uninsured population in the i-70 mountain corridor of the western slope of colorado, which remains the region with colorado's highest uninsured rate, at an average 12.6% uninsured in garfield, pitkin, eagle, summit and grand counties.