Manchin, Rockefeller Announce Funding for Dental Health Care in West Virginia
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller today announced $310,600 in federal funding for oral disease prevention in West Virginia.
“Helping West Virginians maintain a healthy lifestyle is an investment worth making for the wellbeing and success of our future generations,” said Manchin. “If our healthcare centers have the right information and the right tools, it can be easier for our healthcare providers to offer the best services possible to those who are in need. This grant will not only make sure that West Virginians receive excellent preventive and primary care, but it will also help support healthcare jobs across our great state.”
“Preventive care, including access to good dental care, is so important to the overall health outcomes of our children and families,” said Rockefeller. “When I first came to West Virginia as a VISTA volunteer, I was shocked and saddened by the number of children living in Emmons who had never been to a dentist. Since then I have been focused on helping all of our communities access good dental care. We know now that efforts to promote good oral health care can give our children a healthy start in life, save medical costs in the long-term and, in some cases, they can be lifesaving.”
The funding comes to West Virginia from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). The Chronic Disease Control Cooperative Agreement award was given to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) for the state’s Oral Disease Prevention Program.
Manchin and Rockefeller have always been advocates for expanding and strengthening dental care, especially to children in underserved communities and low-income families. Rockefeller worked to improve dental coverage for children as part of the 2009 reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
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