A RETROSPECTIVE FROM FORMER DONATED DENTAL SERVICES PROGRAM MANAGER

Julie Ericksen

After nearly seven years, I am retiring from my role as Program Manager for the VDA Foundation’s Donated Dental Services Program. If I have worked with any of you, it is likely because you are generously giving your time and resources to support those in our Commonwealth who are elderly or disabled and low income through Donated Dental Services. I am grateful. I have worked closely with my capable replacement, Penny Jordan, to ensure a smooth transition.

I’d like to share with you some insights from my end of the phone lines at VDAF. We receive calls daily from folks desperate for dental care, whose dental needs often cost more than multiple months of their income and have limited or no dental insurance to support their care. Many of their issues are the result of medications, illnesses, genetics, abuse, lack of resources for routine checkups, etc.

Some have moved here from other states and are surprised at how difficult it has been to get basic dental care in Virginia. We were very excited when Medicaid expanded in July of 2021 since about a third of our waiting list was on Medicaid. With folks getting their dental care through Medicaid providers, we can help more people in need. As Medicaid expanded, we began to encourage and provide guidance to those contacting us who were eligible for Medicaid benefits to begin the process of exploring their benefits and finding a provider.

In some cases, people have reported to us their gratitude for getting their dental needs met. In many cases, they have struggled and struggled to find a provider, or are only able to get some of their dental needs met. I also see dentists

declining to participate in Medicaid due to the difficulties of working within the system for a wider array of benefits. With compensation rates stagnant for many years, there is additional loss of revenue as a Medicaid provider. We have hesitated to remove folks from our Donated Dental Services waiting list who have Medicaid until we are certain they have access to care. I am thankful for the expansion of benefits in Virginia and hope the system will rise to meet the new challenges.

Meanwhile, VDAF will plug along, patient by patient, connecting our applicants with the huge gift that many of you offer of pro bono dental care. One by one, you are truly changing lives, not just with your dental work, but with your care and connection to our neighbors in need. It is amazing to see the transformative impact of the work that you do for citizens who have lost hope – even just to hear the change in their voices as I talk to them on the phone.

I will deeply miss my exceptional colleagues at the Foundation and the VDA, the connections with our elderly and disabled applicants, and the dentists and staffs who care for them. I am leaving the Foundation in caring and capable hands, with a full heart.

If you are a dentist who would like to provide this fulfilling work for the occasional patient, please call Penny Jordan at (804) 523-2182.