Grantee Spotlight

A teenage girl stepped out of the dental exam room in Synergy Services’ medical and dental clinic and gave her mother a big smile. “It’s all good,” she said, and gave her mother a thumbs-up sign. The dental assistant said the teen could floss more, but the mother was pleased since her daughter hadn’t been to a dentist in at least two years.

Synergy Services opened a Homeless Youth Campus in 2009 on five and half acres in Kansas City, Missouri. Part of that campus is a 24,000 square foot Youth Resiliency Center that offers an array of services for homeless, runaway and abused youth ages 12 to 20. The center opened in March 2010; the on-site dental and medical clinic began services in May. The Youth Resiliency Center was built to address the mental, physical and oral health needs of displaced youth, as well as serve as a resource for other low-income, at-risk youth who are without health services.

A lack of a stable home life, poverty and the strains of homelessness can result in an array of serious health problems – poor hygiene, malnutrition, infections, sexually transmitted diseases, decayed and missing teeth, physical injuries, broken bones and other problems. Common issues among the youth served include extreme fatigue, infection, sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy, bladder infections, birth control, rashes, allergies, asthma, headaches and stomach pain. In terms of oral health, most of the youth treated have had little or no dental care in years, if ever.

Besides these health risks, Synergy’s clients face other barriers in accessing health care. Separation from families means lack of insurance and payment ability, confusion regarding parental consent for health services, challenges navigating a complex health care system and overall lack of trust of health providers.

The REACH Foundation awarded Synergy a program grant in 2009 to support medical services. In 2010, the Foundation supported both medical and dental care. Medical care is contracted through Children’s Mercy Hospital. Oral health services are provided by Miles of Smiles, Inc., a nonprofit, portable dental program. Through the REACH grant, Synergy contracts with Miles of Smiles to provide on-site dental care, including oral exams, prophylaxis, fillings, topical fluoride X-rays, sealants, extractions, crowns and other services two days a week during the school year and full time during the summer.

A medical case manager assists youth with obtaining medical and dental services, and connects those with more serious health conditions to community services. Synergy’s staff also has established connections with human service organizations, churches, schools and other groups that serve at-risk youth to make them aware of the clinic. By year-end, Miles of Smiles had treated 420 youth for more than 800 patient visits. The medical clinic provided health care to 237 youth for 324 patient visits.

Read about another grantee:  Health Partnership Clinic of Johnson County