Expanding its outreach within the community, Penn Dental Medicine announces a new partnership with Woods Services to provide dental treatment for its clients and residents; Woods is a Pennsylvania- and New Jersey-based nonprofit that serves children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries. Woods’ existing dental care center within its Langhorne, Pa.-based campus will be undergo extensive renovations over the next six to eight weeks, reopening later this summer as Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Care Center.
Renovations to the clinic will add two operatories (expanding from three to five), provide state-of-the-art equipment, enhance the waiting area and reception check-in, and migrate current patient files into a new electronic health record system utilized by Penn Dental Medicine.
“We are thrilled to be expanding our service and care within the community through this Woods partnership,” says Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean, Dr. Mark Wolff. “It not only allows us to help provide comprehensive care to the Woods clients, but also offers an invaluable setting for our students to gain experience caring for individuals with a wide range of disabilities.” Postgraduate students within Penn Dental Medicine’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry program will provide clinical care at the center under close faculty supervision.
“Woods is pleased to work with Dean Wolff to enhance dental services for our clients and residents,” says Tine Hansen-Turton, president and CEO, Woods Services. “Penn’s personalized care and interdisciplinary team approach are perfectly aligned with Woods, as is its emphasis on preparing the next generation of dentists to care for patients with special needs. Penn’s dentists will be able to perform procedures at our on-campus dental clinic that in the past would have required a visit to a specialist for treatment. This expansion of services will be less disruptive for our clients, further enhancing their quality of life.”
With Dean Wolff’s appointment in 2018, he established dental care for persons with disabilities as a priority for the School, and in 2021, Penn Dental Medicine opened the state-of-the-art Care Center for Persons with Disabilities at the School. Under his leadership, Penn is developing a national reputation for excellence in treating the dental needs of people with disabilities and in training dental students to care for these individuals.
Woods is organized around the principles of population health management and addresses the social determinants of health through a comprehensive continuum and system of care that connects prevention, wellness, education, behavioral health, and social services with coordinated and integrated healthcare delivery.
“The Medical Center at Woods serves as a national model for providing comprehensive, coordinated personalized care for people with complex diagnoses and medical conditions, like Mikey Faulkner, current Woods client and the clinic’s namesake,” says Hansen-Turton. “The opening of Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Clinic continues Woods’ commitment to providing an integrated healthcare experience for our clients – an approach that optimizes outcomes for individuals.”
This new care center will add to Penn Dental Medicine’s ongoing community care programs, which also include dental centers at Mercy LIFE, serving seniors in West Philadelphia; Puentes de Salud, serving the Latino community in South Philadelphia; and the PennSmiles mobile dental bus, serving children within the Philadelphia School District and area community health centers.
About Woods Services
Woods Services is a nonprofit, life cycle care management and advocacy organization that, along with five affiliate organizations located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey – Allies, Inc., Archway Programs, Legacy Treatment Services, Tabor Services, and Woods Community at Brian’s House – provides innovative, comprehensive, and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health, and case-management services to more than 20,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, behavioral, child welfare, and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex and intensive medical and behavioral healthcare needs. Founded in 1913 by Philadelphia schoolteacher Mollie Woods with two simple goals – to advance quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities – Woods Services continues its mission today by helping children and adults with disabilities or challenges achieve their highest potential. Among the ways Woods does this is through its population health management strategy, which includes the integration of primary and specialty medical care with behavioral health in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. For more information, visit woods.org.
About University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Founded in 1878, the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (Penn Dental Medicine) ranks among the nation’s leaders in oral-health education, research, and patient care. The school’s educational programs include: a four-year DMD program; postgraduate study in all the major clinical specialties as well as general dentistry; advanced graduate degree programs, including Doctor of Science in Dentistry, Master of Science in Oral Biology, Master of Advanced Dental Studies, and Master of Oral Health Science; and the Program for Advanced Standing Students in which foreign-trained dentists earn a DMD. As one of 12 schools within the larger urban campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Dental Medicine is uniquely positioned to provide a depth of opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research across other professional disciplines. The school is a major provider of oral healthcare for the Philadelphia community, serving approximately 31,000 patients each year in its care centers.
