AN E-NEWSLETTER FOR THE OPEN DOOR COMMUNITY | ISSUE 44 • October 2022
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Why Your Oral Health Matters |
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Your oral health directly impacts your overall physical health.
“It’s been shown that more bacteria in the mouth increases the likelihood of infections throughout the body,” said Dr. Ben Geisler, Director of the Ossining Dental Program at Open Door Family Medical Center. “There are links, for example, between periodontal disease and both blood pressure and heart disease.”
Studies even show a direct link between poor dental care and Alzheimer’s disease.
And yet, less than 65 percent of all American adults reported seeing a dentist over the past year, according to statistics published by Health, US Data Finder. This number falls to below 50 percent among Blacks and Hispanics and under 40 percent among those who live at or below the federal poverty levels.
This is particularly important to note during National Dental Hygiene Month in October, a time intended to raise awareness of the importance of proper dental care while promoting healthy mouths, gums and teeth.
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Open Door Give a Toy & Share the Joy Annual Holiday Toy Drive |
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Join us and spread joy this Holiday Season!
For over 35 years Open Door has distributed toys to children in our communities. Help us continue this Holiday tradition by sponsoring a Toy Drive with your family, friends, and colleagues. Check out our online Toolkit for helpful suggestions on ways to host an in-kind campaign.
The Holiday Toy Distribution is sustained entirely through community donations. With your help, Open Door Family Medical Center will distribute over 3,500 gifts. Help us fill our Gift Bundles with new toys, books, pajamas, and stocking stuffers.
Toy Distributions at our Medical Centers begin the first week in December. For additional information on how you can help, contact Jane Levy at jlevy@odfmc.org.
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Educating Patients Beyond the Exam Room |
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"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
That’s the thinking behind the mission of the Care Coordination and Outreach team at Open Door Family Medical Center. It’s one thing to provide quality and affordable health care to an underserved population – it’s another thing to educate people on how they can get the most out of their health care services.
After all, navigating an often complex – and at times –confusing health care system can be a challenge for anyone. For those who come from different backgrounds, who speak different languages, who follow different cultures and traditions, it can seem almost impossible.
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Open Door Outreach team members at the Ossining Village Fair |
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PrEP – The Fight Against HIV
PrEP, which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, has been a game changer in the fight against HIV.
The pill has been shown to be up to 99 percent effective in preventing HIV. Yet, earlier this month, a federal court judge in central Texas ruled in favor of a Christian-owned company that argued that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover PrEP “forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use.”
In spite of the controversy, the HIV Care and Prevention Team at Open Door Family Medical Center knows how beneficial PrEP can be.
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Early Diagnosis Saves Lives
This mantra is heard throughout the year, but particularly in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Patient advocates at health centers like Open Door Family Medical Center make it a point to remind their patients of the importance of regular screenings, as many breast cancer symptoms are invisible and not noticeable without a mammogram.
“Our patient advocates educate on the importance of self-breast exams, clinical breast exams, and mammograms, but it’s a challenge,” said Andrea Ruggiero, Executive Vice President, Community Health at Open Door. “Putting off screenings because of fear of being diagnosed with breast cancer, unfortunately, is not uncommon."
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Open Door In The Community |
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Open Door celebrated with The Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter at its 30th Anniversary Gala. Open Door is deeply grateful to have been chosen as a beneficiary of a grant from Jack & Jill in support of our behavioral health services. Their partnership makes a difference for our patients and for our communities.”
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Open Door partnered with The STEM Alliance and AT&T to host a Digital Pathways community event at Open Door Port Chester for Open Door patients. The program brings trained bilingual STEM Alliance digital navigators to partner sites to help clients access free or low-cost digital resources like devices, internet access and beginner tech training.
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At Open Door, we are committed to reducing health disparities in our communities by providing equitable, accessible health care and wellness services — regardless of ability to pay. |
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Your Support Matters
Thanks to the support of all our donors, the Open Door is able to do what we do best — delivering compassionate, quality health care and wellness services to people with the least access and greatest need — regardless of their ability to pay.
For more information, contact Elisabeth Gilbert, Senior Director of Development, at egilbert@odfmc.org or 914-502-1417.
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