(FOR RELEASE January 23, 2019) Williamsport – The River Valley Health and Dental Center (Center) received an award today of $400,000 from the Williamsport Lycoming Community Fund at First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFP). The funds will be used for the purchase and equipping of a Mobile Care Unit.
“We are extremely grateful that the support of the Foundation will help us to expand our ability to reach out to the community with this mobile unit to provide greater access to and the delivery of affordable dental and medical services. Many families face tremendous barriers to their care, such as transportation. Our hope is that this unit will help to address that challenge and others,” stated James Yoxtheimer, Center President and Chief Executive Officer. The Center currently serves over 16,000 patients at its location on Hepburn Street in Williamsport but is charged with the mission of serving all residents of Lycoming County.
The custom unit is designed to be equipped with two dental operatories, one medical exam room, a waiting/administrative space, sterilization and a restroom. The key to the service provided by this mobile unit will be to expand the Center’s reach in the community and provide initial and follow-up services needed to provide completion of necessary treatment plans. The Center currently provides a local school district with a dental school program, but this unit will allow the Center to expand its current outreach programs.
“The Foundation shares the vision of the Center’s goal for outreach to the community and is pleased to address a need identified in the recent Lycoming County Community Needs Assessment,” stated Jennifer D. Wilson, FCFP President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to partner with the Center to make a mobile care unit a reality for our community.”
The Foundation works to improve the quality of life in north central Pennsylvania through community leadership, the promotion of philanthropy, the strengthening of nonprofit impact and the perpetual stewardship of charitable assets. It strives to create powerful communities through passionate giving.
The River Valley Health and Dental Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), a non-profit community-based health organization independently governed by a community board of directors and located in the Hepburn Plaza (471 Hepburn Street) in the center of Williamsport. It serves the residents of the greater river valley community with comprehensive primary care – medical and dental including chiropractic, behavioral health, reproductive health, and pediatric dental services. Not only does the Center provide services to the medically underserved to prevent illness and foster wellness, but to everyone in our river valley community, and provides care that goes beyond the conventional to address needs and other factors that may cause sickness, proactively managing chronic conditions for improved and sustainable outcomes and overcoming common barriers to care.