PORT ANGELES — Five months after Olympic Community Action Programs closed its dental clinic in Port Angeles, volunteers will operate a free emergency dental clinic for low-income members of the community.
The dental clinic operated by Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics — also known as VIMO — will begin at 9 a.m. Friday at the former OlyCAP Oral Health Center at 228 W. First St.
“It will offer a very limited scope of treatment — emergencies only,” said VIMO Executive Director Larry Little.
Patients with infections or pain will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis until 3 p.m.
There will be no root canals or restorative work done at the clinic, Little said.
Since OlyCAP’s dental clinic’s closure, Olympic Medical Center’s emergency room has been crowded with people with dental emergencies that they cannot get treated elsewhere, he said.
“There is no access to dental care for people without insurance,” Little said.
“It’s important to do in Port Angeles,” he said.
VIMO volunteers hope to offer more Friday dental clinics.
The first clinic is staffed, and VIMO is actively recruiting new providers for future clinics, Little said.
Additional clinics are planned weekly Fridays, says VIMO’s website at www.vimoclinic.org.
“There are no appointments, evaluation and treatment will be provided on a first come first served basis with, unfortunately, no assurance of service,” the website says.
Funding for the Friday clinic comes from OlyCAP, OMC, the City of Port Angeles, Clallam County and United Way.
The OlyCAP clinic closed in February because of state budget cuts and the rising cost of Medicaid.
The Port Angeles clinic opened in 2006 and had 5,500 patient appointments in 2010, with an additional 1,000 emergency visits.
At the time, Little said the volunteer organization would work to open a dental clinic, though on a smaller scale than the OlyCAPclinic.
For more information, visit the VIMO website and click on “Dental.”
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
