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Published: Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2012 / Updated: Monday, Sep. 24, 2012 03:31 PM

CAAC Dental Clinic a community cornerstone

Helps with ‘immediate, basic’ dental needs

CLOVER -- 

Clover Area Assistance Center has come full circle.

After more than a year of renovations and installation of equipment, CAAC Dental Clinic opened its doors June 25 at its new location at 227 Church St., where the center began as Clover Caring Center before merging with Good Neighbor Pantry to form CAAC.

“The space looks very different, but the purpose is still the same – to provide assistance to those residents of the community who need help with immediate, basic needs,” said Peggy Hormberg, an original Clover Caring Center volunteer and past president of CAAC Board of Directors.

CAAC Executive Director Karen van Vierssen praised local businesses, contractors and dental professionals for helping CAAC go from a single-chair, storage room-sized space to a full clinic with three chairs, an office and a waiting room.

Dr. Stacy Blackmon, the only volunteer dentist for the clinic, and volunteers from her staff have been seeing CAAC clients weekly, van Vierssen said, working through a waiting list that could take eight to 10 months to complete.

During renovations, dental services were provided to clients at minimal or no cost to CAAC by Blackmon and other local dentists, like Dr. Joseph Hourihan, DDS, who began partnering with CAAC in April 2011, when the original dental clinic closed.

“CAAC is eager to partner with other area dentists who are willing to make a weekly or bi-weekly commitment to treat patients at the clinic,” van Vierssen said.

According to a York County Health 2012 Assessment Survey conducted by Duke University with Catawba Care, dental care for uninsured adults, even those with Medicaid, was identified as a major need in York County because of extremely limited dental resources.

Lisa Hall, president of CAAC Board of Directors, helped secure the building for the clinic.

“Treating CAAC clients is the first step in meeting adult dental care needs for those who live within the boundaries of the Clover School District,” Hall said. “This is what we were striving toward.”

CAAC Dental Clinic serves patients from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays by appointment only. Patients must be referred through CAAC.