In a landmark September 2003 report, the Institute of Medicine found decisively that ethnic minorities in the United States do not enjoy the quality of health care that white Americans receive, even when their physical access to care, age, health status, income, and levels of insurance coverage are largely the same. In response to these findings, the Congressional Black Caucus in early November introduced the “Health Care Equality and Accountability Act of 2003,” legislation designed to help remove language and cultural barriers in health care situations; reinforce minority health institutions; increase insurance coverage among minorities; and improve the medical community’s understanding of minority health needs. Dr. Dennis Mitchell, assistant professor of clinical dentistry in periodontics and community health at Columbia University’s School of Dental and Oral Surgery, was one of only six people chosen to testify at a Capitol Hill briefing and panel discussion on the proposed legislation. Dr. Mitchell’s testimony focused on the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. dental workforce and how this problem continues to seriously and negatively impact both the oral and general health of minorities.
Dr. Mitchell can comment further on the pending legislation and what it will mean for minority populations specifically and for health care in general. He also can discuss oral health disparities in minorities and the steps that the dental school at Columbia University is taking to rectify this situation both locally and nationally.
A graduate of Howard University’s dental program and the master’s program in health services management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Dr. Mitchell currently directs the Harlem component of the Community DentCare Network, a Columbia-based program that actively works to increase access to dental care among northern Manhattan residents. In this capacity, Dr. Mitchell:
• established all of Columbia’s community-based dental service programs in Harlem, resulting in more than 25,000 dental patient visits annually;
• oversees seven school-based dental clinics in northern Manhattan, providing services for more than 10,000 child dental visits each year; and
• facilitated the development, construction, and purchase of a state-of-the-art mobile dental center that delivers oral health care services to more than 40 Head Start and day care centers in the northern Manhattan community.