UNE celebrates new dental school, Patient Care Center

The University of New England hosted a ceremony to celebrate the construction of its Patient Care Center and dedication of its newly renovated historic Goddard Hall on Aug. 30, 2012 on UNE's Portland Campus.  

Speakers at the event included Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew, Northeast Delta Dental President and CEO Thomas Raffio, UNE College of Dental Medicine (CDM) Founding Dean James Koelbl, UNE Board of Trustees Chair Mark Doiron, and UNE President Danielle Ripich. 

Goddard Hall is the administrative home to UNE‚Äôs newest College, the only dental school in northern New England.  

Using the metaphor of a Hollywood production throughout her remarks, UNE President Danielle Ripich said the dental school and Patient Care center were the "stars" with the support of a tremendous supporting cast and a few dynamic leading players.  She thanked the many supporters in the audience.  

President Ripich explained that "the dental school is really about students and patients.  What makes this a bit different from other dental school stories is the untraditional model.  Rather than training for all four years on site, by their 4th year UNE's students will be practicing in community-based clinics throughout Maine and New England."

College of Dental Medicine Accreditation

The event also celebrated the recent announcement that at its regularly scheduled meeting on August 9-10, the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation granted initial accreditation status to the College of Dental Medicine.  Initial accreditation is the classification granted to any dental, advanced dental or allied dental education program that is not yet fully operational.

Dean Koelbl said at the time, "UNE is pleased to receive this designation from the ADA Commission, and we look forward to welcoming our inaugural CDM class in 2013.  This is a significant step forward in the process of ensuring the development of a quality educational and patient care program to serve the people of northern New England and beyond."

Dental School Support

UNE's dental school was made possible through a lead gift from Delta Dental Plan of Maine and other generous donors.  The CDM clinical education facility is funded in part by a $3.5 million grant from the State of Maine Center for Disease Oral Health Program, financed by a bond issue approved by voters in November 2010.

Northeast Delta Dental President and CEO Tom Raffio said, "Northeast Delta Dental considers its $2.3 million leadership gift early in the develop of the College of Dental Medicine to be the most valuable philanthropic contribution we have ever made, consistent with our oral health mission, and so important for the citizens of Maine. We appreciate and very much support the many ways in which UNE's integrated approach of the Inter-Professional Health Clinic will benefit its patients, and we're pleased that the dental clinic will provide the College of Dental medicine students with experience in compassionate care."

UNE recently received word that the State bonds to finance this project would not be made available until 2014.  UNE Vice President for Fiscal Affairs Nicole Trufant notes, "UNE is exploring alternative sources of financing, including reallocation of resources, but we are confident funds will be available to enable us to stay on schedule and complete this important project by 2013."

Patient Care Center/ Interprofessional Education

The Patient Care Center will be the first facility of its kind in northern New England, combining comprehensive dental education with high-quality delivery of oral health care, as well as clinical training space for patient-centered primary care.  It will serve as an incubator for the exploration of new models of healthcare education, led by faculty experts in UNE's Center for Excellence in Interprofessional Education.

President Ripich noted, "UNE's newly established Center for Excellence in Interprofessional Education will have dedicated clinical space for patient-centered primary care.  With over a dozen different healthcare programs at UNE, we are ideally suited to serve as an incubator for innovative team-based models of training and care."

Northeast Delta Dental's Raffio said: "UNE's Patient Care Center is consistent with Northeast Delta Dental's new patient centered oral health dental plans, so we are excited to participate in the groundbreaking of the Patient Care Center."