Capitol Federal Foundation and Topeka Rotary Foundation Provide Lead Gifts for Emergency Dental Care

The Capitol Federal Foundation and the Topeka Rotary Foundation today provided lead gifts to establish Shawnee County Dental Care funds that will assist low income uninsured residents of Shawnee County. The funding will be used to assist patients enrolled in the HealthAccess program in receiving needed emergency dental care provided by Marian Clinic Dental.

“We are deeply grateful for the financial support and faith in this community dental initiative shown by The Capitol Federal Foundation and the Topeka Rotary Foundation,” said Robert Trepinski, Executive Director of Marian Clinic.

The Capitol Federal Foundation provided a lead gift of $10,000 which was followed by a $2,000 gift from the Topeka Rotary Foundation. The gifts will establish emergency dental funds at the Topeka Community Foundation to assist with the emergency dental care needs of current and future patients.

A brief ceremony announcing the gifts was held at Marian Clinic Dental (3164 SE 6th) at 10 AM on Thursday. Members of the public and media attended the event which included remarks by each of the community partners.

“We are seeing a tremendous need from our friends and neighbors who require emergency dental care. Because of this new fund, patients who are in great pain and require emergency dental can receive the help they need,” said Trepinski.

The Shawnee County Medical Society’s HealthAccess program exemplifies the power of local collaboration to provide for individuals that were falling through the cracks in our health care delivery system. Local physicians, optometrists, dentists, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies generously volunteer to each do what they do best to provide coordinated charity care.

Although the volunteers receive no reimbursement, claims are submitted to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas who donates the processing to track the care that is being donated. To date over $40 million in donated medications and health care has been recorded for the program. Approximately 2,300 HealthAccess patients are currently receiving donated health care and over 80% of Shawnee County physicians volunteer for HealthAccess and/or the Marian Clinic.

The HealthAccess program was designed to complement and enhance the work done by the Marian Clinic and the Shawnee County Health Agency, increasing access to primary and specialty care and assisting with funding for generic medications. The Shawnee County Commission and the City of Topeka provide financial support for the generic medications for patients. Most of the administrative funding for the HealthAccess program comes from the Topeka Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Topeka.