TOPEKA, Kan. —
The state should start planning its first dental college and secure seats in out-of-state schools to address a shortage of dental care across Kansas, a higher education task force said in a report submitted Thursday to the Kansas Board of Regents.
The regents appointed the 11-member task force in October to study ways to improve delivery of dental care in a state where 93 of 105 counties do not have enough dentists to serve their residents.
Kevin Robertson, executive director of the Kansas Dental Association, said he supported the task force’s dual recommendations.
“We know the challenges for dental care won’t be tackled by a single approach,” Robertson said.
Kansas should secure seats for more students at dental schools in Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma and offer those students tuition subsidies if they agree to return to Kansas and work in underserved areas, the task force said. The goal would be to improve care for people living more than 30 minutes from a dentist, the disabled and those without dental insurance, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported (http://bit.ly/O3p5XM).
At the same time, the state should “prepare a future, long-term, logistical plan for establishing a Kansas dental school that includes clinical sites in underserved areas.”
The new dental school would cost an estimated $58 million, and it would be seven years before any students graduated.
“Kansas has a dental access crisis now. We can’t afford to wait,” Hays dentist Melinda Miner said.
Cathy Harding, executive director of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved, was disappointed that the task force didn’t endorse allowing registered dental practitioners in Kansas. The practitioners would be trained to work in underserved areas and perform routines services such as cleanings and fillings under the supervision of a dentist.
A proposal to create the category died in the last legislative session after strong opposition from the Kansas Dental Association, which raised concerns about safety and the creation of two levels of care.
Local News
Task force suggests first Kansas dental school
- Local News
-
-
Sheriff’s funds to pay for two building projects
Jasper County’s general fund budget may pay some initial costs for renovating and constructing two county buildings, but the final bill for the projects will come from law enforcement sales tax funds.
-
Pittsburg crews work to repair storm damaged Schlanger Park
City crews using heavy equipment spent Thursday cleaning up Schlanger Park after a storm tracked through Monday night.
-
No charges to be filed in Joplin shooting case
The nonfatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a Joplin residence on May 13 has been deemed justified by authorities. Jacob B. Boykin, 21, of Joplin, shot Justin S. Johnson, 25, of Carterville, once in the chest with a small-caliber handgun at 5260 E. Sunny Acres Lane.
-
Mike Pound: DVD smells like pizza; how great is that?
Just when I think the rest of the world is passing us by, this great country does something that renews my faith in innovation. It does something that renews my faith in that can-do spirit that led Charles Lindbergh to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, thus leading to the invention of the airplane bathroom.
-
Joplin Board of Education to decide fate of East Middle School teacher
After hearing nearly 10 hours of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses and accepting more than 45 exhibits into evidence, members of the Joplin Board of Education voted to move behind closed doors Thursday night to decide whether Randy Turner, a communication arts teacher at East Middle School, will continue to teach.
-
Memorial Day travelers bemoan high gas prices
Norm Hayward and his wife, Claudia, have a couple of things going for them as they continue their increasingly expensive motor home trip around parts of the United States. For starters, the Phoenix, Ariz., couple are saving on hotel costs.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism estimated at $4,000
Vandals caused an estimated $4,000 worth of damage in Cunningham Park, draining the pool in the aquatic center of about 200,000 gallons of water and throwing some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Joplin team drove through storm to get to Moore
It was a long drive in the middle of a severe thunderstorm that had earlier produced a massive tornado in Moore, Okla. With the two-year anniversary of Joplin’s deadly twister approaching on Wednesday, a team of 14 Joplin emergency workers was ready to risk the trip in order to get help to a hurting Moore.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism bill estimated at $4,000
The city estimates that vandals caused about $4,000 worth of property damage in Cunningham Park, draining the swimming pool of 200,000 gallons of water and moving some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher
A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Sheriff’s funds to pay for two building projects
