West Valley City, Utah - At Communities United we are implementing the project “Bridging Communities” in conjunction with the Utah Department of Health. This project aims to help the community by providing free dental care services, cholesterol screenings and information to establish a head physician, to all residents of the Glendale and South Salt Lake area.
Verónica Zavala, project coordinator, explains how this initiative has been able to help many families, who at times have not been able to receive the necessary attention because they do not have dental or medical insurance to cover the expenses.
Considering the number of Latinx families living in these areas, how many people do you want to benefit from this program?
“We are working so that more than 200 residents of Glendale and South Salt Lake area can establish a family doctor and refer them to free, or low-cost dental services and we have now reached more than half of our goal."
So far, what has been the response of the community with this program?
“I think that our community is receptive to existing resources, however, there is still a lot to do with the information and preventative services. It is very common to see that members of the community only go to the doctor when they are sick, but there is not a large population that makes an appointment to do their annual medical check-up, because they think it is too expensive to go to health services, which is why this program is also: connecting communities by focusing on referring affordable medical and dental services to families."
Once the person makes their appointment, what is the process that follows?
“We at Communities United provide information and then follow up to see if they were able to see a doctor and receive dental services. The most important thing is that our communities are healthy so they can continue raising and giving their children a better quality of life."
People interested in receiving the benefits of this program can call Communities United at (801) 487-4143 from Monday to Thursday from 8AM to 6PM.