FOLLOWING the successful staging of its fifth annual fund-raiser, Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival held in May, the Sandals Foundation recently presented a new mobile dental unit and chair to the St Ann Health Department.

The donation will significantly boost the capacity of the health department’s medical practitioners to provide oral health care services to children, including those with disabilities and special needs.

Valued at approximately $930,000, the mobile dental unit — which comprises a patient folding chair, doctor’s stool, dental light with power supply, tray and spit funnel — will travel to schools in remote locations as well as to homes and places of safety serving children with disabilities.

Dr Yadrian Fernandez, consultant dental surgeon at the St Ann Health Department, says the unit will improve the department’s capacity to serve a section of the community which often experiences barriers to access.

“Patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often face the greatest barriers in accessing care. With this addition, our team can bring high-quality preventive, restorative, rehabilitative, and palliative services directly to schools, community settings, and institutions like Mustard Seed Communities which is home to some of our most vulnerable population,” said Dr Fernandez as he pointed out that oral health care is integral in maintaining and improving the overall quality of life.

According to Dr Fernandez, the new mobile dental chair is well-timed in enabling the health department to offer various levels of care.

He noted than on October 9, a new policy took effect for the health departments in all parishes on the frequency, how they treat, and meet the needs of patients with intellectual and developmental disability.

“This unit will help us meet those new standards of care — providing oral examination, preventive treatments, screening, deep cleaning, extractions, and rehabilitative services — increasing their comfort and quality of life,” said Dr Fernandez.

With its new mobile unit, the St Ann Health Department recently held a clinic at the Jacob’s Ladder Home in Moneague.

For Father Garvin Augustine, executive director of the Mustard Seed Communities International, the services of the dental team were welcomed.

“At Jacob’s Ladder our 170 residents are affected by the full spectrum of various mental and psychological needs. Because of their circumstances, because of their situation, their entire life is here so we have to provide the best possible holistic care that we can. Dental services are a vital part of that medical intervention and we are grateful for the support,” said Father Augustine.

In the meantime director of operations at Sandals Foundation Karen Zacca says the recent donation serves as part of the philanthropic organisation’s investment in improving the infrastructure that support the island’s health-care services.

“Over the years, our Golf and Jerk Festival has been a driving force for raising funds to support health-care programmes and hospital services. When we were made aware of the gaps of the St Ann Health Department in serving some of our most vulnerable members in our community, there was never a doubt in our minds to get involved. These resources will touch the lives of many children — improving the quality of their lives in more ways than one.”

The Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival is an annual sport and food event that combines a golf tournament with a jerk cooking competition.

The event acts as a platform for young people in the Sandals Foundation’s Care for Kids Junior Golf Programme to play head-to-head with some of the island’s avid adult golfers, while contributing to the improvement of vital community health services.

Dr Yadrian Fernandez, consultant dental surgeon at the St Ann Health Department, demonstrates to Karen Zacca, director of operations at the Sandals Foundation, the power supply on a new chair which is equipped with a tray, spit funnel, and all the other necessary components for dental care.