© 2001 American Public Health Association
The authors are with the Mailman School of Public Health and with the Division of Community Health, Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, New York, NY. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Georgina P. Zabos, DDS, MPH, Division of Community Health, Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, 630 W 168th St, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: gpz1{at}columbia.edu).
In spite of the direct referral system and family-centered model of primary oral health care linking medical and dental care providers, most HIV-positive patients at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center received only emergency and episodic dental care between 1993 and 1998. To improve access to dental care for HIV/AIDS patients, a mobile program, called WE CARE, was developed and colocated in community-based organizations serving HIV-infected people. WE CARE provided preventive, early intervention, and comprehensive oral health services to minorities, low-income women and children, homeless youths, gays and lesbians, transgender individuals, and victims of past abuse. More efforts to colocate dental services with HIV/AIDS care at community-based organizations are urgently needed, however. This article has been cited by other articles:
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