Congratulations to Olga Ensz, D.M.D., M.P.H., and Cesar A. Migliorati, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., faculty members in the UF College of Dentistry who were part of the Care One Clinic team honored with a UF Champions for Change award in October.
A partnership program between the UF Office of Sustainability and Healthy Gators, UF Champions for Change recognizes UF people and programs for their significant contributions in the areas of Sustainability or Health & Well-Being. This year, UF Health’s Care One Clinic earned one of seven awards given in the Health & Well Being category. Another five awards were given in the Sustainability category.
About Care One Clinic
Established in 2012, Care One Clinic is a unique comprehensive clinic that cares for local vulnerable patient populations such as those without resources to pay for care. Since the program started, 73% of the patients served by Care One clinic have entered with unaddressed mental health issues in addition to their other medical needs.
Care One Clinic is one of only a few such clinics in the United States with a combination of medical, dental, social work, pharmacist, and mental health provided in one space. Without a clinic like this, many target patients would be limited to engaging in the medical system through emergency medicine departments. Over the years, the Care One Clinic’s combined interventions have reduced emergency department utilization by their patients by more than 25%. Further patient tracking has documented that clinic patients have been successful as they move forward in managing their overall health and wellness.