PACIFICARE FOUNDATION: Awards $35,000 To Children’s Dental Clinic

      PacifiCare Foundation has donated $35,000 and 11,000 toothbrushes to the Children's Dental Health Clinic located at Miller's Children's Hospital in Long Beach. The grant, the largest donation the clinic has ever received from an HMO, will help the clinic to treat more children and double operations at its Avalon satellite site. The foundation is the charitable arm of PacifiCare, the state's second largest HMO. "More than 50% of early elementary school-age children in California need urgent dental care, but can't afford it," said clinic administrator Patricia Acosta. "Our goal is to work with doctors and dentists to provide care to children in need. That's why PacifiCare has pledged to contribute more than $3.25 million to bring medical and dental care, and education to more than two million children," said Jim Stumpfel, president of PacifiCare Dental and Vision. The clinic is funded by state and private funds, and treats underprivileged patients who pay based upon their ability. The clinic also provides dental care to children through the Healthy Families program and Medi-Cal. "Children of low-income, immigrant families are an especially urgent target, because many come from countries and cultures where the concept of preventive dental care is virtually non-existent," said Long Beach Vice Mayor Doris Topsy-Elvord (release, 12/2).