The Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation announced this week that Gateway Technical College was one of 14 technical colleges in the state to receive matching funds to pay for the expansion of oral health workforce programs.
The matching funding is part of Wisconsin Act 89, a law Governor Tony Evers signed in January of this year that allocates $20 million for oral health care initiatives in the Wisconsin Technical College System. Each college was required to come up with matching funds to receive the state funding, and Delta Dental’s pledged grant will assist the 14 colleges to come up with their portion of the matching funds for the state grant.
The DDWF said in a news release that they pledged to help match the state funding because of their mission to expand access to dental health care, to ensure a strong dental workforce and to improve the oral health of underserved and vulnerable populations.
Paid for by a combination of the state grant funds, DDWF funding and Gateway funding, there is a project underway to create a new, state-of-the-art $3 million dental suite in the Technical Building on Gateway’s Racine Campus that will house the college’s existing Dental Assistant program and the new Dental Hygienist program expected to be up and running in two years.
The suite will include space added to the Technical Building and incorporate new equipment and an area where students will be able to work with members of the public on certain dental issues.
Gateway School of Health Dean Micheal Randolph said there is high demand among students and area employers for dental hygiene students to be trained locally. Currently, Gateway students participate in a shared program with Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Randolph said the program is so popular that there’s a waiting list to enroll, and having the program on the Racine Campus will help to alleviate that situation.
“Local employers have also expressed a huge need for dental hygienists,” said Randolph.
It’s a win-win-win all the way around. Our students will have access to this training in a brand new dental suite. The community and employers will benefit from our graduates, and the program and facility will be able to address the needs of the at-risk population in the area.”
Because of the time it takes to officially accredit a program, it might be up to two years before dental hygiene students start their training in the new lab. In the meantime, though, Dental Assistant students will make use of the facility once it’s ready.
“I think this really shows Gateway’s commitment to our community and local employers,” said Randolph. “This represents a significant financial investment and one that will serve the needs of students, employers and our community.”