University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry has been awarded $350,000 by the Herbst Foundation to build a new ambulatory surgery center at its San Francisco campus to increase access to oral health care for low-income and historically underserved populations.

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) SurgiCenter will initially serve more than 150 patients per year, a number that will increase as its care team expands. The OMS SurgiCenter will reach a number of patient populations including children, older adults, and people with intellectual and development disabilities who require deep sedation and general anesthesia to facilitate their dental/surgical care.

“Building out an accredited OMS SurgiCenter will enable our OMS department to significantly expand our surgical services to include procedures that are normally performed in a hospital operating room,” said Dr. David Lam, associate dean for medical integration and professor and chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. “These services include outpatient jaw surgery, facial trauma repair, cranial nerve injury repair, management of benign and malignant pathology, complex reconstruction, sleep surgery, surgical orthodontic procedures, and temporomandibular joint surgery.”

The 1,800-square foot OMS SurgiCenter will feature a dedicated reception area, a pre-op consultation room, three operating rooms, a post-anesthesia recovery unit, a pharmacy/dispensary area, and a supply management area.

The OMS SurgiCenter will initially be staffed by the department’s full-time faculty including Dr. Jesse Manton, a dental anesthesiologist, and three oral and maxillofacial surgeons, along with a registered nurse and surgical assistants. Dental students, residents and interns will rotate through the OMS SurgiCenter assisting with surgical, sedation and perioperative medical evaluative patient care.

The Dugoni School’s model of enhanced patient safety, collaboration and dedication to the highest-quality oral health care makes it uniquely qualified to care for underserved patient populations who cannot be treated in traditional dental settings, but do not require the resources of a full-scale hospital setting.

“Oral and maxillofacial surgery centers in an academic setting are rare; only a few exist on the East Coast and none in Northern California,” said Dr. Nader A. Nadershahi, dean and vice provost of the Dugoni School of Dentistry. “This generous grant from the Herbst Foundation will go a long way in supporting care for underserved people in California and training the next generation of dental and medical providers.”

The Herbst Foundation focuses its principal activity toward providing capital funds for the construction or renovation of facilities of tax-exempt organizations within San Francisco. The grants are primarily directed toward the fields of education, health, social services and cultural institutions.