Remote access medical clinics for dental needs could be on the way for Upper Cumberland residents.
UCHRA is in the preliminary stages of a new partnership. Executive Director Mark Farley said the idea comes from a Life Church group called Doing Unto Others.
“What they approached us about is seeing if they could secure a site in the Cookeville office for the main area,” Farley said. “And then also, we have been talking about taking one of our old transportation vans and converting it into a mobile dental clinic.”
Farley said dental assistance is a high need in Cookeville alone. Farley said the last remote medical clinic had up to 700 residents from within a 10 mile radius seeking treatment.
“When they did the one at the Cookeville High School, the last four years that they’ve done that, they have averaged somewhere between 400 and 700 coming just for dental and that is all from a 10 mile radius from Cookeville High School,” Farley said. “When you multiple that across the region, that is going to be a huge number.”
Farley said starting the service would cost about $150,000. Farley said the agency is looking for grants and donations to help the cause.
