Gift from the Heart offices are now located at the Quinte Business Development Centre with Trenval Business Development Corporation, in the Pioneer Building of Loyalist College, Wallbridge-Loyalist Road.
The Gift from the Heart (GFTH) is a national non- profit charity that provides vulnerable Canadians who experience barriers with no cost oral health care services since 2008. Access to oral health care has been further limited with the Covid-19 pandemic. GFTH has continued to work tirelessly to find ways to provide these services to those facing barriers.
“Our Board of Directors unanimously supported GFTH to operate out of the Trenval offices. We recognize the changing local social economic environment and GFTH will allow Bay of Quinte residents access to good health and wellbeing in oral care”, says Amber Darling, Executive Director Trenval.
In 2021 and 2022, GFTH received 2 decommissioned local ambulances that have been refitted to offer preventive oral healthcare services from dental hygienists.
“In 2023, GFTH will unveil our Outreach Mobile Dental Centre offering accessibility to provide our communities with urgent dental care such as extractions and fillings, filling the gap that currently exists between services offered by Public Health and Community Health Centres”, said Bev Woods, GFTH President/CEO.
Every 9 minutes someone goes to an Emergency Room (ER) because of dental pain, most commonly a tooth abscess. Every 3 minutes someone goes to a doctor’s office because of dental problems. Physicians are not trained to deal with diseases affecting teeth and gums so they cannot provide treatment. They can only prescribe antibiotics and pain killers which does nothing to solve the problem. This costs at least $38 million annually in avoidable healthcare costs for problems that should be treated by oral healthcare professionals.
“GFTH relies on the generosity of donations. This is a true example of one community organization assisting another for the long term benefit of the community”, adds Darling.
To learn more about the GFTH charity: www.giftfromtheheart.ca