UI Health Continues to Advance Community-based Oral Health and Dental Care

The UI Health Mile Square Health Center (MSHC) continues to expand its primary mission of community engagement and exceptional patient care, while focusing efforts on sustainable efforts meant to invest in local communities. The continued success of the Dental Assistant Certification Program is best shown through the graduation of its 9th cohort since its establishment in 2022.

Also aligned with UIC’s mission of access to the highest quality health care, including oral health care for all in the communities we serve, and meaningful workforce development, the Dental Assistant Certification Program is one of the best examples of the impact UI Health has made and continues to make to improve the lives and communities in Chicago and beyond.

The Mile Square Health Center’s Dental Assistant Certificate Program truly embodies the UIC and UI Health mission of making a difference in people’s lives. The program is a powerful means for community development and engagement. Offered nearly cost-free, it provides education and experience for students interested in pursuing a health professions education – especially in oral health and dentistry.

A significant factor in the program’s enormous success is that it meets people where they live and is administered at the Mile Square location in the Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub on Chicago’s south side. Central to Mile Square’s mission as a federally qualified health center, is the recognition that fostering relationships among the community is core to establishing trust with the neighborhoods that the clinics serve.

The most recent graduation from the Dental Assistants program was on March 6. Sue Etminan, DMD, MPH, Chief of Oral Health at Mile Square Health Center, and Sai Ramani Krishna Kumar, DMD, presided over the ceremony which featured speakers including Heather Higgins Alderman, President and CEO of the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHLF), and Deputy Mayor Jonah Anderson who both provided inspiring remarks that touched on the hard work and dedication the graduates embody. Additionally, Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH, CEO and Executive Director of MSHC, was also on hand to share his personal experiences to these newest graduates, and to show the importance MSHC leadership places on this program. Cheryl Parker from the National Network of Oral Health Access provided graduates with oral health themed graduation gifts.

After receiving over 400 applicants – having gradually increased to this point from around 200 when the program began – a total of 11 students comprised the 9th cohort to complete the program. Since the program began, 71 students have graduated to become dental assistants. These alumni from the program have gone on to earn a combined nearly $2M in salaries.

Job placement for graduates is 80%, and at each graduation, dental hiring managers are invited to the event who are eager to hire, given the demand for dental assistants. Additionally, the program held a job fair three weeks before the graduation ceremony.

The program has continued to receive funding support including a $25K gift from the Bob Egan Legacy Fund. Being presented with Bob Egan’s legacy gift by the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation was especially meaningful, and his legacy promoting oral health in Illinois is carried out by our graduates.

By offering the opportunity to enter the field of oral health care for people looking for a future in dentistry, the Dental Assistants Certification Program exemplifies how UI Health and MSHC continue to lay the path forward to better the wellbeing of all.