2017-10-01
Residents of Villa Cathay Care Home will no longer need to travel off-site for dental treatment. Thanks to over $100,000 in donations, they now have access to a modern dental clinic on-site.
Moreover, the UBC Geriatric Dentistry Program (GDP) has the operatory it needs for students to provide specialized care to over 150 geriatric residents in the long-term-care facility. UBC students—dental, dental hygiene, and graduate prosthodontics and periodontics— began curricular rotations in the new clinic this fall.
Opening day of the new dental clinic at Villa Cathay Care Home was celebrated by many leaders in the dental community. From left to right: Dr. Jason Choi, president of the Chinese Canadian Dental Society of BC; Ms. Jane Young and Mr. Davood Moradi, president and chief executive officer of David Mitchell Co. Ltd; Mr. Michael Adamson, Ms. Yoyo Koo and Mr. David Ebert from the Timothy C. Kerr Family Foundation; Dr. Ken Chow; and Dr. Anthony Li, on the board of directors, Chinese Canadian Dental Society of BC. Missing: Mr. William P.J. McCarthy, and Mr. Ken and Mrs. Julie Park.
The UBC Geriatric Dentistry Oral Health Clinic opened on September 25, 2017, on the lower level of the care home. The room previously served as a dental clinic but was decommissioned years ago. While Villa Cathay undertook the renovations to make the space functional, the new equipment—an A-dec 511 dental chair, a delivery unit, dental instruments and a full range of dental supplies—as well as some necessary retrofitting expenses, were provided through support from generous donors. Under the aegis of the UBC GDP, Dr. Ken Chow, a long-time supporter of UBC Dentistry, was instrumental in garnering donor support for the new equipment.
“Building on the success of the dental clinic at the Simon K.Y. Lee Seniors Care Home, UBC will implement the same proven infrastructure model at Villa Cathay Care Home, providing oral health care to geriatric residents in an environment that feels safe and is familiar to them,” says Dr. Chris Wyatt, professor and director of the Geriatric Dentistry Program.
The presence of a dental clinic in a geriatric facility also supports ongoing research in the fields of gerontology and oral health care. The Geriatric Dentistry Program has earned a reputation for excellence in education, research and provision of specialized geriatric oral health care and is poised to meet the needs of seniors—Canada’s fastest growing population.
Future expansion of the dental services offered by the GDP at Villa Cathay may include non-curriculum volunteer-based clinic days, as well as serving seniors who live in the neighbourhood. Villa Cathay also plans to bring in more adjunct health services and expand their health care facility, which may entail relocating the dental clinic.