Penn Dental Medicine, Woods Services Celebrate Opening of New Community Care Center Serving Persons with Disabilities

Philadelphia – Penn Dental Medicine is continuing to expand its service in the community to persons with disabilities with the opening of its newest community care site—the Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Care Center. The Care Center is a partnership with Woods Services, a Pennsylvania- and New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that serves children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries. Penn Dental Medicine and Woods Services celebrated the opening of the new state-of-the-art facility with a ribbon cutting, held February 3 on Woods’ Langhorne, Pa., campus where the Center is located.

“We are thrilled to be providing care within the Woods campus, serving the Woods residents and clients as well as others in the local community with disabilities,” says Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean, Dr. Mark S. Wolff. “In addition, our students will be gaining invaluable experience in patient care.”

Postdoctoral students and faculty from Penn Dental Medicine’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program will be providing care in the Center, which features five dental operatories, quiet space for those needing a lower-stimulation environment, a waiting area and reception check-in, and conference room.

Starting in March, the surrounding disability community, including former clients and residents of Woods, will also be able to get care at the Center.

Woods residents and staff, Penn Dental Medicine students and faculty, donors, and community members gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony, which included remarks by Dean Wolff as well as Tine Hansen-Turton, Woods President and CEO, and Dr. Marc Henschel, Director of AEGD program. State Representative Joe Hogan and State Senator Frank Farry, who both represent the district where the Center is located, were also in attendance.

“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, a current Woods client and the center’s namesake,” Hansen-Turton said. “The opening of Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Care Center continues Woods’ commitment to providing an integrated healthcare experience for our clients – an approach that optimizes outcomes for individuals.”

Along with six affiliate organizations, Woods provides integrated healthcare, education, housing, workforce development, behavioral health, and case management services to more than 22,000 children and adults who have complex medical and behavioral healthcare needs in the intellectual and developmental disability, behavioral, child welfare, and brain trauma public health sectors.

Penn Dental Medicine at Woods Mikey Faulkner Dental Care Center adds to Penn Dental Medicine’s community care programs, which also include Mercy Life, serving the elderly in West Philadelphia; Puentes de Salud, at 1700 South Street, serving the immigrant community from Mexico and Latin America; and PennSmiles mobile dental vehicle, serving children in Philadelphia schools and Head Start programs.