The uninsured need dental care, too. New non-profit dental office opening in Palmetto

A local family is working to bring affordable dental care to Palmetto residents through a new non-profit dental clinic.

Genesis Health Services, started by James McCloud — who was born and raised in Palmetto — will open a non-profit dental office at 707 Seventh St. W. to serve underprivileged and uninsured patients on Saturday.

“I’m glad we were able to come this far,” McCloud said of the opening.

Bringing the office to his hometown, McCloud said, is not based on a whim, rather a decision supported by data that he said shows Palmetto is a medically under-served area.

“We’re giving free dental exams and that includes x-rays, treatment plan and just meeting the doctor for the first time and trying to build that relationship between patient and dentist. I think that’s the most important thing in my opinion,” office manager Josiah DeLeon said.

The new non-profit dental office expects to serve about 20 patients between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, DeLeon said. Two dentists, Fotios Skordas and Huguette Duteau, will volunteer their time to provide free dental exams for patients on opening day.

Free exams will be offered by the office until Sept. 1.

The full-service clinic will also provide cleanings, extractions, full and partial dentures, crowns, bridges, root canals, fillings and teeth whitening services.

After Saturday’s grand opening, the office will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer questions and schedule appointments, which will vary based on the volunteer dentist’s availability.

Already the new dental office has several patients, and DeLeon said in the last two weeks they’ve had 25 others call and be added to their waiting list.

They hope to soon hire a full-time dentist in the office, begin accepting insurance and additional patients. Insured patients will help sustain the dental office financially so they can continue to keep prices low to serve uninsured patients and operate as a non-profit, DeLeon said.

“The non-profit nature is going to ensure we’re truly affordable for the working and uninsured people,” McCloud said. “We have to have income. So in order to help, the monies we receive (from insured patients) will subsidize the uninsured.”

The office is still looking for dentists to volunteer their time to give back to the community and help keep the costs to patients down.

McCloud added they will also eventually expand to include medical appointments and services in the same building to continue to provide for the community.

DeLeon is McCloud’s step-son, and was also born and raised in Palmetto. His mother, he said, works for Manatee County.

“To me it’s very nice that I can do something and give back to the community,” DeLeon said.

Genesis Health Services provides medical and dental services with a focus on preventative protocols to help families have access to affordable healthcare.

Started in 1995, Genesis Health Services has since expanded from their first dental office in Nokomis in 1998 to multiple locations in Manatee and Sarasota counties that offer medical, mental health and dental services.

This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 9:37 AM.