By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — The bad news went out earlier this month to about 3,000 patients of the Gundlah Dental Center that the dental clinic would be closed by Olean General Hospital after 20 years of operation.
On Friday more than a dozen patients attended a hearing at the dental center in the Olean General Hospital complex to hear the news from Brad Chapman, president of OGH and Bradford Regional Medical Center. Others connected to the hearing via WebEx video.
Kaleida Health is the parent group of the Upper Allegheny Health System, which oversees the two hospitals. Bradford Regional Hospital is slated to end inpatient, emergency and long-term care services later this year.
Chapman cited financial and staffing challenges as reasons the dental center, named after a former Olean General Hospital president Theodore “Ted” Gundalah, is closing.
“It’s not the news I wanted to say,” Chapman told those assembled in the dental center’s waiting room.
“Is it possible the clinic will reopen?” one woman asked. “Where will we go?”
Chapman replied that the dental center is unlikely to re-open once it closes. The hearing was required by the New York State Department of Health before the hospital can close the dental clinic.
The state health department reports 4.7 dentists per 10,000 residents in the county. With just under 80,000 residents, that would equal about 37 dentists. The state average is between 7.1 and 8.3 dentists per 10,000 residents.
The hospital will attempt to connect patients with other local dental providers. He said officials tried unsuccessfully to partner with other area dental offices in Olean, Salamanca, Jamestown, Wellsville and Bradford, Pa., to maintain the dental clinic in Olean.
Olean General Hospital will continue to operate its Delevan Clinic and suggested some of those attending the hearing might inquire about becoming patients there.
Chapman told the Olean Star that the dental center lost $800,000 over the past five years. It has been difficult recruiting staff and currently has one dentist who plans to retire soon.
“We will do the best we can to transition patients” to other dental offices, Chapman said. It’s unclear when the center will close as it must first be approved by the state health department.
“Can we get transferred to Delevan?” one woman asked. She said she called the Bradford, Pa. dental clinic and was told she was 439th in line for new patients. “I don’t think you’ve looked at everything,” she told Chapman.
One man said it was very difficult to find dentists that take Medicaid. Another said it was hard to find any dentists who took new patients at all. “It looks like I’m going to have to go to Buffalo (for dental treatment)” one woman said.
Another woman said, “A lot of us are disabled. We depend on Medicaid transport” and they don’t go to Bradford.
One woman asked whether procedures begun at the Gundlah Center would be completed before it closed.
Chapman said the dental center would make every effort to complete procedures prior to closure. Copies of patients’ dental records will be made available to new dental providers.
Chapman said the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is ramping up programs to train dental technicians — not dentists, which may result in more available staffing — but not in the short-term.
While a non-profit organization, the Gundlah Dental Center faces inadequate reimbursement from Medicaid, Chapman said. Coupled with future Medicaid cuts and staffing shortages, the dental clinic was not sustainable. “We’re looking at all (hospital) services,” he said.
“This is a big loss for the community,” one woman said, “Everyone needs dental care.”
A woman said there should be a task force to look into filling the need for dental services for the poor and disabled. Many people are unable to drive elsewhere.
A woman who was formerly associated with Head Start, the educational program for disadvantaged children, said the clinic had been “a godsend” for children’ s dental care when it opened 20 years ago. She wasn’t sure how that need will be filled if the clinic closes.
Among the online participants in the hearing was Melissa Gundlah Hintz of Granger, Iowa, the daughter of Mr. Gundlah, for whom the dental center was named. He died in 2022.
Hintz said she and her brother Chris were at the ribbon cutting for the Gundlah Dental Center in 2006. The center was established, she said, “to provide regular and timely dental care to the poor and underserved in the community.” The hospital identified additional need for dental care for seniors, she added. Over 20 years, the center has provided dental care for tens of thousands of area residents.
Hintz also argued that dental care should be part of the hospital’s $200 million investment now underway. “The Gundlah Dental Center was never intended to be a profit center, but to fill a critical need in the Southern Tier,” Hintz said.
She said she has been in contact with the Olean General Hospital Foundation, which her father helped found, “to see if there may be some help from the foundation. In this respect, I respectfully ask that you reconsider closing the center and keep my father’s legacy alive and well.”
Chapman said the state health department is taking comments on the hospital’s plan to close the dental center for the next week. Comments may be emailed to hospinfo@health.ny.gov.
