Little City eyes May 10 opening of on-campus clinic

Dental care for developmentally disabled residents will get a lot more available May 10 when Little City opens its Health and Wellness Center at the Palatine campus.

Currently, disabled people have to travel to Rockford for specialized dental care, and it can take weeks to schedule an appointment.

A dental team from Northwest Community Hospital was at Little City last Friday and Monday to evaluate patients who live at Little City.

The Northwest Community Hospital dental team was led by Dr. Ahmed El-Maghraby, and volunteers that included licensed dentists, hygienists and dental students from Harper College and University of Illinois at Chicago.

In addition to evaluating the dental health of community members, the hospital also donated equipment and helped set up two dental care rooms for the clinic.

Northwest Community Hospital employees gave caregiver training to Little City staff and launched a "desensitization" program to help patients cope with their fear of the dentist.

"Developmentally disabled people are afraid of the pain and don't understand why the dentist hurts," said Lisa Reyes, director of communications for Little City Foundation.

"They need a specialized form of oral care and right now they are being drastically underserved."

Karen Baker, director of community services at Northwest Community Hospital, said the desensitization program will help disabled patients slowly overcome their fear of the dentist.

"At the screening, some patients would not even open their mouths or approach the dentist," Baker said.

The dental clinic is only part of the Health and Wellness Center, a two-year project to provide primary medical and dental care to Little City residents and participants on the 56-acre campus.

About $500,000 was needed to launch - about $250,000 in startup costs and equipment and another $250,000 to operate the first year.

Reyes said they have collected enough money to run the clinic for three years. As well, many donations came in the form of equipment or other "in kind" contributions.

She said $80,000 was appropriated from Illinois' capital plan to help renovate the building and remove asbestos, but the money has not been released to Little City. The Foundation is going ahead with the work so the clinic can open as planned by May 10.

An advanced practice nurse was hired to work at the clinic when it opens in May, thanks to a $280,000 donation from the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund. Omron Electronics LLC made a $75,000 gift and gave another $62,000 in equipment.

Once the clinic is open, Northwest Community Hospital will support a part-time dentist on a regular basis.

The Little City Foundation also wants to expand its services to all developmentally disabled people in the Northwest suburbs.

Little City Foundation provides education and care to more than 350 developmentally disabled children and adults in the Northwest suburbs.