The Aspen Group Announces Plans for Oral Care Center in Illinois
The Aspen Group will open The TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence in summer, 2022 to care to underserved patients in Illinois.
The Aspen Group Announces Plans for Oral Care Center in Illinois
The Aspen Group (TAG) has announced its plans to open the TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence facility in early summer 2022. This care center is being created to provide no-cost dental care to underserved Illinois residents and will be in Chicago’s West Loop. The care center will be about 25,000 square feet and is estimated to be serve 2,500 qualifying patients each year. This was done to expand access to the vital area that is oral health care, according to chairman and CEO of TAG Bob Fontana.
“Our mission has always been to break down barriers to health care and bring better care to more people,” Fontana said in a press release from TAG. “When we moved our headquarters to Chicago in 2018, we knew we wanted to bring that same care to the underserved communities here as well—and we are confident the service provided at the TAG Oral Care Center will help change people’s lives and serve those who, for far too long, haven’t had access to quality dental care.”
Julie Frantsve-Hawly, PhD, CAE, will serve as the care center’s executive director. Dr Frantsve-Hawley trained at Harvard and has experience in public health dentistry and research. TAG Oral Care Center will also provide technology and procedure education for licensed dentists from Aspen Dental and ClearChoice Dental Implant practices.
“Oral care is essential to overall health, but the reality is—many people struggled to access routine dental services, allowing potentially dangerous conditions to remain untreated,” Dr Frantsve-Hawley said in the press release. “The TAG Oral Care Center for Excellence will fill this critical gap for thousands of underserved patients in Illinois, and I am certain our work will give both our patients and the providers who we support something to smile about.”
This comes after a 2021 state ruling that expanded opportunities for licensed dentists to provide free care to underserved Illinois residents through education programs.
