In an effort to improve overall health by focusing on expanding oral health services across its network of Community Health Centers, Valleywise Health is pleased to announce the creation of a post-graduate program in general dentistry (AEGD).
Valleywise Health has received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to develop this distinctive program, which will train dental residents to provide multidisciplinary oral care to ethnically and racially diverse patients, apply the concepts of quality improvement and practice management, and to help future practitioners have a better understanding of the oral health needs of vulnerable communities.
“The AEGD program is a natural extension of Valleywise Health’s mission to improve community health,” says Dr. Christopher Brendemuhl, DMD, Chief Dental Officer at Valleywise Health. “Not only will the grant help us expand the availability of dental services for some of our most vulnerable populations across the valley, but will also help us train the next generation of residents who are inclusive, public health-conscious providers and lifelong learners.
The Valleywise AEGD Residence will train residents as primary oral care providers in pursuit of program goals:
- Provision of patient-centered general, emergency and multidisciplinary dental care.
- Act in the required role of a generalist in an interprofessional team model of care.
- Application of public health principles in the development and delivery of community service initiatives and various models of care delivery, which emphasize health promotion and disease prevention.
- Application of critical thinking and evidence-based clinical decision-making to oral health care learning and delivery.
Recruitment of dental residents for the AEGD program will begin in the fall of 2022.
To learn more about Valleywise Health’s current dental services, please visit https://valleywisehealth.org/services/dental.
About Valleywise Health
Located in Phoenix, Arizona and named one of the Top 100 Hospitals in the Nation by IBM Watson Health in 2020, Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) has a proud tradition of being the community health care system with a mission and a commitment. to serve the underserved. Valleywise Health includes Valleywise Health Medical Center, Arizona’s only public teaching hospital, a Level 1 trauma center capable of treating adults and children, and the only nationally verified burn care center in Arizona. Arizona serving the entire Southwestern United States.
Other services include primary HIV care at McDowell and Peoria Health Centers, the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, three Behavioral Health Centers and 11 Community Health Centers.
To learn more, please visit www.ValleywiseHealth.org
