OSF HealthCare will use a $2 million federal earmark to renovate and expand its Forest Park dental clinic at the Saint Francis Medical Center campus in Peoria. The project will create a dental sedation clinic aimed at improving access to oral surgery for underserved children and adults across Central Illinois.
Key takeaways
- The federal funding will support renovations at OSF HealthCare’s Forest Park dental clinic.
- New procedure rooms will accommodate dental treatments requiring sedation or anesthesia.
- OSF expects the project to serve uninsured patients, Medicaid recipients and others facing barriers to care.
- Wait times for sedation procedures could drop from nine months or more to about one week.
Federal funding targets a local dental care gap
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited the clinic site Tuesday as OSF outlined plans for the renovation. The $2 million comes through congressionally directed spending and will help convert part of the existing facility into an outpatient dental sedation clinic.
The expansion is designed to address limited access to dental services in the region. OSF estimates that one in five residents in the Tri-County area cannot obtain dental care when needed. In Peoria County, about 20% of residents are enrolled in Medicaid, while many local dentists do not accept Medicaid patients.
New clinic will support complex procedures
The Forest Park location is one of two OSF dental facilities in Peoria. The second clinic is on Sheridan Road. Renovations at Forest Park will add procedure rooms for oral, maxillofacial and other dental procedures that require sedation or anesthesia.
The additional space is expected to increase OSF’s capacity and make it possible to schedule procedures more quickly. Patients who cannot tolerate routine dental treatment without sedation, including some children and adults with significant medical or behavioral needs, are expected to benefit from the expanded services.
Wait times could fall sharply
OSF Saint Francis President Mike Wells said patients currently may wait nine months or longer for a procedure requiring sedation. Once the expansion is complete, OSF expects that wait to fall to roughly one week or potentially less.
Amanda Sutphen, director of community outreach at OSF Saint Francis, said the project will allow the organization to provide more timely care while responding to growing demand. The initiative reflects broader efforts to treat oral health as an essential part of overall health, rather than a service available only to those who can easily afford it.
Broader impact for underserved patients
The clinic will focus on children and adults who are uninsured, rely on Medicaid or face other obstacles to receiving dental treatment. By combining expanded space with sedation capabilities, OSF aims to make necessary oral surgery more accessible and reduce delays that can allow dental problems to worsen.
The project’s completion timeline was not specified, but the federal investment gives OSF the resources to move forward with the planned renovation and expanded outpatient services.
