Money Provides Dental Services to Developmentally Disabled
By Hank Russell
Long Island has been awarded more than $3 million in healthcare grants from a $25 million investment made by the state to help address health equity for people with developmental disabilities who often find it difficult to find comprehensive healthcare that meets their needs.
The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) prioritized awards based on projects related to expanding access to dental care, improving physical diagnostic space to better accommodate wheelchairs, creating sensory-friendly areas for neurodiverse patients, and improving access to specialty physical health services in “healthcare deserts.”
The following facilities and their programs were awarded the following grants:
- Long Island Select Healthcare: a $2,338,753 grant for “Eastern Suffolk Integrated Healthcare Access Expansion”
- North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset): a $15,766 grant for “Increasing Adult Primary Care Capacity for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities through Wheelchair Accessibility” and a $135,200 grant for “Improving Dental Services through Implementation of Sensory Friendly Spaces”
- Long Island Jewish Medical Center: a $142,900 grant for “Increasing Accessibility to Pediatric Dental Care through Sensory Friendly Spaces”; a $345,500 grant for “Increasing Specialty Care Access and Sensory-Friendly Spaces at Northwell Health at Rego Park”; and a $25,621 grant for “Increasing Accessibility to Pediatric Primary Care through Sensory Friendly Spaces”
“Under my administration, we’re taking steps to close the health equity gap for New Yorkers with disabilities,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “This funding allows New York’s providers to make life-changing upgrades to facility equipment and space to address some of the most difficult dental and preventative health access needs. This is innovation at work as we create a more inclusive New York for all.”
Willow Baer, the state’s Office for People With Developmental Disabilities Commissioner, added, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we are tackling the difficulties people with developmental disabilities face in accessing comprehensive healthcare from a qualified professional in a setting that is appropriate to their needs.”