By RORY SCHULER
Director Daniel Boateng and Dental Assistant Sheila Fernandez prepared the exam room for their next patient. They try to flip the chair over quickly. They have patients waiting.
For the past month, youths and their parents have packed the waiting room, often spilling into the dental office hallway inside the Hartford Avenue headquarters of the Tri-County Community Action Agency (CAA).
Johnston-based CAA has “taken ownership” of the former St. John’s Pediatric Dental Clinic. Joseph, which closed its doors earlier this year in Providence after CharterCARE Health decided not to renew its lease through 2024.
“Our goal is to expand as much as possible,” said Tri-County CAA President and CEO Joseph DeSantis.
Tri-County contractors are hard at work at a new offsite location on Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence. Meanwhile, the Hartford Avenue dental office welcomes patients of St. Joe, in a state where pediatric dental care can be hard to find.
“In a bold and innovative move, Tri-County (CAA) has taken ownership of the long-standing and highly regarded Pediatric Dental Center of St. Joseph, previously operated by CharterCARE Health Partners,” according to a Tri-County news release. “The strategic move is part of Tri-County’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to dental health services for children and families and to strengthening dental/oral health integration across the state.”
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recently approved the acquisition.
Tri-County promises to “ensure that thousands of Rhode Island children and families continue to have access to critically needed dental services, particularly for low- and moderate-income families.”
According to Tri-County, the St. Joseph, formerly located at 21 Peace St. in Providence, closed its doors on Dec. 31, 2023, when the building’s lease expired.
“CharterCARE began discussions with Tri-County in early 2023 to ensure a smooth transition of the dental practice and minimize any delay in dental care for established patients,” according to the press release. “CharterCARE and Tri-County have had a long-standing and collaborative relationship on various health-related initiatives, making Tri-County CAA uniquely positioned to successfully transition the program, as well as staff and patients.”
The staff
DeSantis said eight pediatric dentists from New York University (NYU) Langone, under the supervision of Dr. Daniel J. Kane, have begun seeing patients at the 1126 Hartford Ave. building, inside the new Tri-County Pediatric and Family Dental Center. opened on January 1st. The dental staff at St. Joe will be employed by Johnston while the final stages of construction are completed on their new practice, located inside the Medical Arts Building at 1637 Mineral Spring Ave., Suite 101, North Providence.
“The new dental facility is ideally located for patients with close proximity to public transportation and nearby Providence neighborhoods,” according to Tri-County.
The entire staff of St. Joseph, including “pediatric and general dentists, oral surgeons, hygienists, dental assistants, receptionists and administrative staff had the opportunity to become Tri-County employees as part of the transition,” according to the agency. Tri-County plans to maintain dental provider privileges at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital so they can continue to offer sedation dentistry and oral surgery for pediatric patients. Dental sedation can be a critical service for young patients and/or people with special health care needs who are unable to complete dental services otherwise.”
Tri-County also welcomes Drs. Kane, the former dental director of St. Joseph, who will now serve as the dental director for Tri-County.
“Rhode Island faces a critical shortage of dental providers in the state, and particularly providers who accept Medicaid or uninsured patients,” said Dr. Kane. with Medicaid or those experiencing financial hardship, so I am confident that all patients treated at St. Joseph’s will find a new dental home with Tri-County.”
Patients previously treated at St. Joseph “are encouraged to transfer their care to the new Tri-County Pediatric and Family Dental Center location on Mineral Spring Avenue,” according to Tri-County. Tri-County is committed to preserving the “historic dental records of St. Joseph in the future.”
“We are excited to add the Pediatric Dental Residency program to our Health Center,” said Brenda Dowlatshahi, COO and Director of Tri-County Health Center. “The expertise and innovation brought by Dr. Kane and NYU Langone will undoubtedly enhance our practice, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive and advanced dental services. We look forward to the invaluable contributions and shared knowledge this collaboration will bring, ultimately benefiting the oral health and well-being of our patients.”
The patients of St. Joseph “experiencing an urgent dental problem” can schedule an appointment now at Johnston.
A Great Gift
DeSantis thanked Dr. Jerry Kheradi, a private physician, who maintained a practice at the site for several years before retiring and donating the Medical Arts building space to Tri-County CAA. The agency estimates the space was “valued at approximately $400,000.”
Work began last fall, and Tri-County plans to add 13 “new state-of-the-art dental offices.” They hope the work will be finished this moth. The $6.2 million was “funded by various and diverse funding streams” according to Tri-County, including a $1 million congressionally directed spending grant from Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
“Additional funding was secured from the federal Office of Primary Care: Health Resources and Services Administration, RI Neighborhood Health Plan, Tri-County CAA and other anonymous donors,” according to Tri-County’s news release.
“We are excited to welcome the talented team from St. Joseph to the Tri-County family,” DeSantis said. “This acquisition aligns with our mission to address the diverse healthcare needs of our community and ensures that high-quality dental services are easily accessible. As service providers our team is our greatest asset and I am confident that the Tri-County team and the St. Joseph will successfully merge to provide exceptional patient care.”
The organization is raising funds and seeking help from other organizations, “especially for the first year of the project” in an effort to “ensure that access to these critical services will be uninterrupted.”
Tri-County has also secured a second suite in the Medical Arts building for administrative functions.
“As the need for family and pediatric dental care is expected to fully increase over the next several months, there is a possibility that additional dental operators will be added to the building to keep up with patient needs,” according to Tri-County. “The brand new, state-of-the-art facility will be equipped to provide comprehensive and gentle dental care tailored to the unique needs of pediatric patients, offering a comfortable and child-friendly environment.”
Is CharterCARE moving out of the Ocean State?
CharterCARE’s decision to leave the Providence dental practice fits perfectly with Tri-County’s expansion plans, according to DeSantis.
CharterCARE also operates two key Rhode Island healthcare institutions — Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital (owned by Prospect Medical Holdings). On January 29, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and RIDOH released an application (with corrections) from the Georgia nonprofit Centurion Foundation to purchase the two hospitals. The public can comment on the sale, in writing (until February 29) or during a pair of public meetings (dates and times to be announced soon).
“Public comments will be considered by the Attorney General and RIDOH as they complete their review of this application,” according to a press release from Neronha’s office. “Following the informational public meetings, the Attorney General and RIDOH will continue to review the application.”
Both the AG and RIDOH must sign off on the sale to the hospital as required by the Hospital Conversions Act (HCA). Government agencies “considered Centurion’s application complete in December.” HCA requires the audit to be completed within 180 days (by June 11).
Centurion missed a September deadline after Neronha and RIDOH interim director Utpala Bandy “deemed” Centurion’s application “incomplete” in August. The AG’s office issued a press release stating that the application “did not contain sufficient information necessary for the state to conduct its review under the HCA.” And the General Assembly set a new deadline of September 26, 2023, for “requesting parties” to “correct the deficiencies within 30 working days.”
“The parties were informed of the numerous deficiencies in a letter from the Attorney General and the Ministry of Health,” according to Neronha’s office. “The letter described the application’s shortcomings, including a lack of detail regarding the structure of the entities and how the parties intend to achieve the goals proposed in the Application.”
Neronha’s is sounding the alarm about the state of health care in the ocean state.
After their application was finally accepted in December, CharterCARE won approval from RIDOH to deliver St. Joseph in Tri-County. The head of CharterCARE issued a statement regarding the dental practice transfer (which also required RIDOH approval).
“CharterCARE is proud to have established this extremely important dental program and operated it successfully for many years,” said Jeffrey Liebman, CEO of CharterCARE. “We are very grateful that Tri-County has taken on this program and are pleased that our dental staff and patients will have access to a beautiful new facility.”
About Tri-County
According to the Tri-County CAA, “all patients of the new Tri-County Pediatric and Family Dental Center will have access to other programs (agencies) such as pediatric medical care, food and heating assistance, Head Start programs, behavioral health care for adults and children, employment and training programs and more’.
“Tri-County plans to send their mobile health unit to the Mineral Spring Avenue location twice a week to provide dentists with access to medical care as well,” according to the agency.
For more information about the CAA Pediatric Dental Clinic of Tri-County visit www.TriCountyRI.org or call 401-519-1940.
Tri-County CAA, “a private, not-for-profit community service agency” founded in 1965 is headquartered in Johnston and operates 16 locations throughout the Ocean State.
