HOLISTIC CARE BRIDGING MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
THE SCHOOL’S NEWEST COMMUNITY SITE — PENN DENTAL MEDICINE AT PHMC ON CEDAR — INTEGRATES DENTAL AND MEDICAL CARE AT THIS WEST PHILADELPHIA FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER WHEN SHIVANI IYER (D’26), a fourth-year student at Penn Dental Medicine, examined a patient’s blood pressure this spring as part of a routine exam, she assessed that it was, she says, “through the roof.” Typically, she would refer them to their primary care provider. At Penn Dental Medicine at PHMC on Cedar, she walked them upstairs. “I think a lot of times you can say something to a patient, and then it doesn’t end up happening because there are so many things that slip through the cracks for various reasons, or determinants that are preventing that patient from getting the care they need,” says Iyer. “So being able to actually take a patient for medical evaluation when they need it [is so helpful].” This system of dental-medical integration is by design. Penn Dental on Cedar — the School’s newest community care site that opened for patient care in January 2024 — is part of the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar, located at 54th Street and Cedar Avenue at what was formerly the Mercy Hospital Building. The Campus also includes the PHMC Health Center on Cedar, a federally qualified health center and HUP (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania) Cedar, which provides emergency, inpatient,
and behavioral health services. Additionally, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers a crisis response center for pediatric mental and behavioral emergencies. Penn Dental on Cedar features 11 stateof-the art dental operatories, and in 2024, its first year in operation, there were 2,348 patient visits and nearly 8,350 dental procedures completed at the site. “Maintaining optimal oral health is essential to overall well-being,” says Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean, Dr. Mark S. Wolff. “Integrating dental care within a collaborative-care center, such as Cedar, where patients have access to comprehensive healthcare services, supports improved health outcomes.” At its core, the Cedar care center serves as a bridge between Penn Dental Medicine and the West and Southwest Philadelphia community — and also between types of care.
OPPOSITE: Penn Dental on Cedar features 11 state-ofthe-art operatories. In 2024, the first year of operation, there were 2,348 patient visits. ABOVE: Dr. Cassandra Gafford (D’13), Director of the Community Oral Health Clinics at Penn Dental Medicine (right) and Dr. Kari Hexem (D’15), Assistant Professor of Community Oral Health (left). STORY PHOTOS: Eric Sucar
PENN DENTAL MEDICINE JOURNAL | FALL 2025 11