1500 Broadway: Community Clinic in the Making

1500 Broadway. Future home of UBSDM's first student run dental clinic! Five other classmates and myself have had a couple of meetings with the administration already and things are finally starting to take shape.

This building was a community health center some years ago, but then was shut down, and has been closed up since. As a community health center, it not only provided health services, but also served as a place for people in the community, to socialize, and relax. Ideally I'd personally love to see it turn into something like that again.

Today our agenda included a detailed tour of the facility, to gain a better idea of what we will be working with, as well as checking out the equipment that has been purchased to be used once the renovations are complete. Our dental area of the building is situated next to what will be a mental health facility on the first floor. The second floor will be a medical clinic and the basement is mainly used for storage and other machinery. Since the building has been closed down for some time, it's not in the best condition, but we were all really excited to see the space, and I couldn't help imagining how awesome this will be once we're open.  While in the basement Kevin (our dental repair expert) gave us a brief rundown about the dental equipment. The heart of any practice is in the vacuum pump and the air compressor. In setting up a dental practice  these are two pieces of equipments that one should not look to take a cheaper option on, because without suction, or compressed air, there isn't much dentistry. According to Kevin, generally air compressors run ~$6K and vacuum pumps around $5K.

We also paid a visit to a storage facility where we're currently keeping the dental chairs, and furnishings for the clinic until it's renovated. I was thrilled to see the chairs were top of the line, all the usual instruments, attached sink, but also an LED monitor! All the more reason to push for intraoral cameras, and some other awesome gadgets. The chairs are made by Adec, which is a state of the art brand and go for around $17K -$25K.

We're now focusing on creating the business plan. We've divided up the project into parts so that we all have something to work on ourselves, although we will be involved in every section. The picking of sections could not have worked out better, since we all had interested in different things. I'll be taking on the technology role, and I really can't wait to do more. I'm considering talking to a local dentist to see what their opinion would be on reasonable technology.

Last week we met with the architects, and Erie County representatives, to discuss renovations which will be taking place. Our current projected floor plan includes 5-6 operatories, an IT room, break room, waiting area, reception, file room, sterilization, potential dental lab, and more.

This whole project takes me back to the bioengineering entrepreneurship days. Creating value, seeking out opportunities in change, and serving people. The big change up here has been the closure of many public health care facilities, leaving people to seek private care. So, we have the change, the people adversely affected, and now the funds to innovate. I see the vision being to improve the health and happiness of the people in  the community, and there are so many ways to do that. Clearly, as an oral health care facility we will be providing care, but deciding what specific services remains to be determined. We'll need to be ready to embrace any population that may present, and be willing to adapt to their needs as well. The greatest challenge and most exciting part of new ventures - nothing is for certain, except our commitment to the cause.