By Aaron Allen
The Seattle Medium
Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic is expanding. The clinic, which has been serving Seattle’s Central Area for over 48 years, has been awarded a $5 million grant from Delta Dental of Washington. The grant will enable the organization to open a new clinic in South Seattle and more than double the number of dental patients it serves each year. Clinic officials say this expansion by Odessa Brown will improve the lives of thousands of children in southeast Seattle and the surrounding communities.
“Good dental care is a critical component of the overall health care we provide,” said Dr. Ben Danielson, senior medical director of Odessa Brown’s Clinic. “The pain and other impacts of dental disease are especially harmful for kids because they affect the ability to eat properly, get the nutrition they need, get a good night’s sleep and focus on learning.”
“All this leads to difficulty in school and really puts them at a disadvantage,” he explained. “Being able to expand our dental services to so many more children will not only give them a better childhood, but also increase their likelihood of success in life and help improve our community.”
Odessa Brown, for whom the children’s clinic is named, was a staunch supporter of health care for children in the Central Area. The native of Des Arc, Arkansas moved to Seattle in 1963, after receiving training as a licensed beautician at the C. J. Walker Beauty School in Chicago. In addition to being a beautician, Brown also worked as community organizer for the Central Area Motivation Program. She was a quiet, private person but when she spoke people listened, particularly when it concerned health care for children.
Brown worked in African American neighborhoods to make people aware of the health needs of children and the community and she then communicated their needs to Seattle Model Cities, a federally-funded anti-poverty agency, where in 1970 her efforts were rewarded by the Seattle Model Cities to develop a children’s clinic to serve the city’s Central District. The Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic opened its doors on E. Spruce street and ten years later in 1980, the clinic moved into a new building where it presently resides on E. Yesler.
The Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, which works in cooperation with Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, provides dental, medical and other services to children throughout Seattle and King County Dr. Blanche Lavizzo, a Black woman pioneer in pediatrics, was its first medical director and the inspiration for its motto “Quality care with dignity.”
According to officials, the grant from Delta Dental will help Odessa Brown upgrade its existing services and establish and equip 15 dental chairs at its new facility, which will push the combined total of dental visits to nearly 27,000 a year. In addition, families will be able to take their children for regular dental checkups at the same place you take them for their well-child checkups.
As part of the new facility that will be on a 3.5-acre campus near Othello Station in the Rainier Valley neighborhood, Seattle Children’s is designing a one-of-a-kind research and innovation hub where clinicians and researchers, and families in the community will work together to develop strategies to address the early seeds of illness and counteract the challenges of living in poverty.
According to the most recent state study, children of color and from lower-income households had higher rates of tooth decay and were less likely to get care than their white and more affluent counterparts. For example, 10 percent of White children have untreated preventable decay. That number is significantly higher for children who are Hispanic (15 percent), Asian (16 percent), Black (18 percent), Native American (19 percent) or Pacific Islander (26 percent).
“Every child should have an oral health screening by age one,” Dr. Danielson said. “Prevention, including proper care of their teeth combined with early treatment of dental issues before they become serious, can make a major difference in their lives and also save a lot of money.”
“Oral health care is also very important for pregnant women,” Dr. Danielson continued. “Dental disease can cause serious pregnancy complications and moms can pass cavity-causing germs to their children. We also know that oral health problems such as gum disease can lead to or worsen other serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.”
The original Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, located in the Central District, will be renovated to upgrade its clinical facilities and maintain its cultural heritage in the community. Funds to improve the existing Odessa Brown site and to build the new location will be generated as part of It Starts With Yes, Seattle Children’s $1 billion fundraising campaign to transform children’s health.
Seattle Children’s expects to break ground of the new 35,000-square-foot facility in the Rainier Valley, including the new dental clinic, in 2019.
Odessa Brown is ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The clinic provides about 40,000 medical, dental, mental health, nutrition and community-based visits a year through its current facility on Yesler Way. That includes about 12,000 visits a year at the dental clinic.
Diane Oakes, President and CEO of Arcora Foundation, the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington, believes that the partnership with Odessa Brown is a win-win situation for the community.
“Too many children from economically disenfranchised communities do not have access to dental care leading to significant health disparities,” said Oakes. “Access to dental care is a social justice issue. We are excited to partner with a valued community resource like Odessa Brown to reduce disparities and help all kids thrive.”
