The Record Street Health Center provides primary care to homeless people in Reno. KUNR’s Anh Gray reports that recently, services were expanded to include dental care.
Community Health Alliance provides access to care for underserved communities in Northern Nevada. They operate a facility at the Volunteers of America homeless shelters in downtown Reno and served more than 1,000 patients last year. They’ve been around for about 15 years, but now patients can get basic dental care too.
Afton Neufeld is with Community Health Alliance and says the clinic hours are set up to accommodate the community’s needs, opening at 6:30 a.m.
“We’re able to take them first thing in the morning so they’re not out waiting in the cold for their appointment or waiting outside," Neufeld explains. "We’re able to get them as soon as they’re released from the shelter, because we believe and we’ve seen that that’s the most strategic time for us to be open to serve them best.”
Neufeld says that in addition to the new dental care, patients receive primary care and treatments for mental health, substance abuse and chronic medical conditions like hypertension and diabetes.