APLA Health Dental Clinic, DTLA Virtual Ribbon Cutting

APLA Health is celebrating National Health Center Week (August 8-14, 2021) with a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony and video tour of its recently expanded and remodeled dental clinic in Downtown Los Angeles (see link below). We’ve added four new treatment rooms (for a total of 12) and now offer specialty dental services with the addition of an endodontic microscope (essential to root canal therapy) and a cone beam CT/panoramic X-ray machine (needed for both advanced oral surgery and endodontics). This is one of three APLA Health dental sites in Los Angeles County, with a fourth location set to open this fall.

APLA Health, founded in 1983 to support the urgent needs of people living with and affected by AIDS, is now one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ healthcare organizations and serves more than 18,000 patients and clients each year. The agency is based in Los Angeles County and includes six Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) locations, with the seventh nearing completion on the Martin Luther King Jr. medical campus at Charles Drew University and the eighth coming soon in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood.

“National Health Center Week recognizes the important work of health centers nationwide and their dedicated staff who bring healthcare to the medically underserved. APLA Health has earned consecutive Gold-Level Health Center Quality Leader recognition from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) due to the hard work of all our staff,” said Craig E. Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of APLA Health. “We couldn’t think of a more appropriate week to introduce this expanded and remodeled dental clinic to the community. FQHC’s are a critical piece of the nation’s healthcare system, particularly for those who are medically vulnerable.”

VIDEO: APLA Health’s Dental Director, Dr. Steven Vitero, talks about the history of APLA Health’s dental services and gives a tour of the recently expanded and remodeled APLA Health Dental Clinic, DTLA. https://youtu.be/ql1z0m8L5X0

More information about APLA Health’s dental services can be found here: https://aplahealth.org/services/dental-care/

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ABOUT APLA HEALTH: APLA Health’s mission is to achieve healthcare equity and promote well-being for the LGBTQ+ and other underserved communities and people living with and affected by HIV. We remain committed to ending the AIDS epidemic in our lifetime. We are a nonprofit, federally qualified health center serving more than 18,000 people annually. We provide 20 different services at 16 locations throughout Los Angeles County, including: medical, dental, behavioral health and HIV specialty care; PrEP counseling and management; health education and HIV prevention; and STD screening and treatment. For people living with HIV, we offer housing support; benefits counseling; home healthcare; and the Vance North Necessities of Life Program food pantries; among several other critically needed services. Additionally, we are leaders in advocating for policy and legislation that positively impacts the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities and conduct community-based research on issues affecting the communities we serve. Its signature fundraising event, AIDS Walk Los Angeles, has drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters to walk, and millions more to donate, raising more than $91 million to combat HIV and AIDS since 1985. For more information on APLA Health visit https://aplahealth.org.