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Investments will help fund dental clinic expansion, address unmet needs
CUSICK – Kalispel Tribal members and Pend Oreille County residents will have more options for dental care. The Kalispel Tribe received a $130,000 grant from Arcora Foundation to help expand dental capacity at their Camas Center Medical and Dental Clinic (Camas Center).
Camas Center, in Cusick, provides comprehensive medical, dental and behavioral health care for all of Pend Oreille County in northeast Washington. The grant money will go toward equipment for 2 additional dental treatment areas for a total of 6.
The dental clinic also will feature a quiet room for elders, children, neurodivergent patients and people who wish to wait in a calm, peaceful space before their appointments.
“The Camas Center Medical and Dental Clinic reflects the Kalispel Tribe’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of the Kalispel Tribe people and the Pend Oreille County community,” said Kalispel Tribal Council Vice Chair Curt Holmes. “Arcora Foundation’s funding and partnership mean more people can get the care they need and live healthier lives.”
Once the $15 million expansion is completed, Camas Center expects the number of dental patients they can serve to increase from 500 to 874 annually. They anticipate most of the new patients (75-80%) will be lower-income and have Apple Health (Medicaid).
“Beyond expansions to the dental clinic, this grant is a meaningful commitment to expand access to care for more people in Pend Oreille County, so no one is left behind,” said Arcora Foundation President and CEO Vanetta Abdellatif. “Arcora is proud to partner with the Kalispel Tribe to ensure more people—especially those who have been historically underinvested in— can access the care they need when, where and how they need it.”
The Camas Center dental clinic expansion is scheduled for completion in summer 2025.
Pend Oreille County has dental professional shortages according to federal data. Tribal clinics like Camas Center provide essential oral and overall health services to address historical dental health disparities, which disproportionately persist among American Indians/Alaska Natives and lower-income households.
The capital grant to Camas Center is among 3 that Arcora Foundation awarded totaling $340,000. Quileute Health Center, another Native health center, received a $140,000 grant. The other went to One Community Health ($70,000), a community health center.
