STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Pivotal low-cost dental clinic in Nanaimo re-opens thanks to community support

Apr 18, 2019 | 5:15 PM

NANAIMO — The drills are once again buzzing at the only low-cost dental clinic north of the Malahat.

CODE Community Dental Clinic on Wallace St. officially re-opened on April 16 after piecing together enough money to operate through March 2020. The non-profit clinic, run by the Nanaimo Region John Howard Society, was forced to close in mid-February due to a funding shortfall.

“People were being forced to go to general practice dental clinics and those aren’t necessarily set up for the kind of clients we help to support. It was an uncomfortable situations for sure,” John Howard executive director John McCormick told NanaimoNewsNOW.

McCormick said they received a glut of calls from people both missing the service and pledging support after news of the closure broke. He said the money needed to re-open came from a variety of sources, including corporate and individual donations and other social agencies like United Way.

“We’re happy we’re going to have enough funding this year and we’re now looking at how do we sustain this funding and provide ways for this to be something we don’t have to shut down for a period of time,” McCormick said.

“CODE has demonstrated the need and the community has expressed its support for it. Now the next level is let’s make sure the funding is secure so we can provide a type of dental care that people in this region desperately need.”

The provincial government recently pledged $20,000 per year over the next three years for community dental clinics, an increase from the $10,000 previously provided. But CODE requires up to $100,000 in outside funding annually to get by on a shoestring budget.

McCormick said he’s spoken with representatives from all three levels of government and federal byelection candidates were all briefed on the expected increase in the need for low-cost dental care.

Opened seven-years-ago, CODE is the only community dental clinic north of the Malahat and performs an average of 1,200 mainly emergency procedures each year. It offers services for typically about half of normal dental fees in B.C. and also provides people a pay-what-you-can model.

 

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi