Variety Care is expanding its dental center and adding an urgent care wing at its Straka Family Health Center location in south Oklahoma City. The expansion will more than triple the dental center's capacity and help divert patients from emergency rooms. It includes 21 new dental operatories and staff. The $4.3 million project was financed through tax credits and foundations and began seeing patients in January. It aims to improve access to affordable oral and primary healthcare for thousands of additional Oklahomans.

1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Contact: Moneshay Givens, Variety Care (405) 837-1208
Dental center expansion to triple capacity at Variety Care location
Project also features new urgent care access in south Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY — Thousands of Oklahomans will have better access to oral health care thanks to the new Dental
Center of Excellence at Variety Care’s Straka Family Health Center in south Oklahoma City.
Community members and oral health advocates will celebrate the center’s grand opening at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 25,
at 1025 Straka Terrace. The expanded section of the health center also features a new urgent care wing, which health care
leaders expect will help divert patients away from costly and time-consuming emergency room visits at city hospitals.
“Oklahoma struggles with many health outcomes, but one of the most challenging is oral health,” said Variety Care CEO
Lou Carmichael. “One of the highest non-urgent uses of hospital emergency rooms for adults is tooth pain. Dental care is
central to primary care and keeping families healthy, but it is also tough for people to afford. Our dental expansion at the
Straka location will help keep people's mouths healthy.”
New markets tax credits financed the urgent care area’s construction and the dental center’s expansion, more than tripling
oral health care capacity at the Straka Family Health Center, which also provides medical, optometric, pharmacy and
behavioral health services to Oklahomans of all walks of life.
The expanded dental center began seeing patients in January and now features 21 operatories, making it one of the three
largest dental facilities in the state. In 2014, Variety Care saw 10,153 patients for dental care, a number which will rise
dramatically thanks to the project.
“The importance of good oral health care cannot be understated. For years, we have received hundreds of more calls for
dental appointments than we could see each month. The demand and need for quality, affordable dental care is enormous,
and this expansion will help a lot of Oklahoma families establish a dental home,” said Dr. Craig Herwig, Variety Care’s
dental director.
The $4.3 million project broke ground in December 2013, and Variety Care has hired three new dentists and two new
hygienists to staff the dental center, which is designed to accommodate more walk-in dental emergencies, such as abscessed
teeth.
“This impressive expansion of services to the greater metro area would not have been made possible without the generous
support of local foundations like the Inasmuch Foundation, Sarkeys Foundation and the E.L. and Thelma Gaylord
Foundation. The need for these services in south Oklahoma City was tremendous and not being adequately met, but now
Variety Care is much more capable of alleviating this problem for many families,” said Andrew Rice, Variety Care
Foundation’s executive director.
Not only is Variety Care increasing access to dental services, access to immediate care services are now available thanks to
the newly constructed new urgent care center also located at Variety Care’s Straka Family Health Center.
Dr. Steve Ramirez, Variety Care’s chief medical officer said, “As a Patient Centered Medical Home, we are directly
utilizing our urgent care to facilitate after hours care to our patient population so they can have an alternative option instead
of going to the emergency room. We are adding the ability of increased clinical services and the new urgent care allows us
to do certain procedures that we have not been able to do given the facility dynamics of not having a procedure room,
orthopedic room, etc. We see emergency room utilization as being one of the key things we want to address by offering
increased access points.”
The urgent care began seeing patients in January and has already treated numerous people seeking immediate medical
attention during and after business hours.
For appointments, anyone can call 405-632-6688.
About Variety Care: (www.VarietyCare.org)
Variety Care is a non-profit community health center with locations in Oklahoma City, Norman, Del City, Fort Cobb, Grandfield and Thomas. Variety
Care saw more than 62,000 people in 2013, providing primary medical, dental, vision and behavioral health care with multiple services at some sites. A
United Way partner agency, Variety Care serves patients with insurance and without insurance and strives to make health care affordable and accessible
for all patients. The Variety Care Foundation provides philanthropic support and community awareness for Variety Care and its efforts.
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