NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2023 / Marathon Petroleum Corporation:
Dental schools in two states are reaching underserved populations with dental care they otherwise might not get as a result of grants from Marathon Petroleum Corporation.
- Funding in El Paso, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, has provided free access to dental care for more than a thousand people, including a homeless man who had never visited a dentist.
- It’s the second consecutive year Marathon has supported outreach by the two schools.
When a 28-year-old man with a history of gang involvement entered a homeless shelter in El Paso, Texas, he had never been in a dentist’s chair. He needed molars removed and recently received care through free services provided by the Hunt School of Dental Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Now, the man is on a new path forward.
“He had a strong will to improve himself, got the dental work he needed, and everything changed,” said John Martin, director of the Opportunity Center for the Homeless. “He now helps at our facility, volunteering to pick up items for elderly individuals who can’t go to the store. He has an outlook on life that is so positive.”
This man’s treatment came through the Marathon Dental Patient Fund that Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) established when the dental school opened in 2021. MPC has provided a total of $80,000 in grants that continue to provide free access to the school’s clinic for children and adults from underserved areas near the company’s El Paso refinery. After two outreach events at the clinic earlier this year, the fund has now made a total of 672 patient visits possible.
Source: Dental Programs Creating New Smiles and New Outlooks / Investors Observer