The Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh’s annual two-day clinic returns to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend. The event offers free dental, vision and hearing services on Oct. 24 and 25 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Just under 200 volunteers — including dentists, clinicians, opticians, ophthalmologists, nurses and imaging technicians — will provide care at no charge this weekend. The goal of the clinic is to narrow gaps in health care access for people without insurance or without coverage for dental, vision and hearing care, which are often left out of traditional health insurance plans. The event is organized by the nonprofit A Call to Care.
“This year’s clinic will once again help those individuals who suffer in pain because of lack of insurance or financial hardship,” said Daniel Pituch, the clinic’s co-founder and chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at UPMC Mercy and UPMC Shadyside. “The entire building will be filled with compassionate people who donate their time, their energy and their talents for one purpose: to provide access to vital care for our most vulnerable neighbors in the community.”
Doors will open at 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday and close when capacity is reached. Volunteer providers will offer a wide range of services. Dental care offerings include exams, cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, x-rays and pediatric dentistry. Vision care includes eye exams, eyeglass fittings and free prescription eyeglasses. Hearing support will range from screenings to fittings for free hearing aids.
According to Mission of Mercy, the 2024 clinic distributed 552 eyeglasses, 586 hearing aids, and nearly 9,380 dental procedures were performed. Organizers said more than one-third of patients last year arrived with dental pain and some had been experiencing that pain for more than a year.
Dental health can have a significant impact on overall health as poor oral hygiene can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Though nearly 60% of patients treated at the clinic last year were uninsured, there are no income, insurance or eligibility qualifications to get treated at the clinic. According to Mission of Mercy Board member Keith Young, some people who rely on the clinic have insurance but can’t afford the copays.
“[It’s] folks that are making the decision between, ‘Do I pay the rent? Do I feed the kids? Or do I get dental care? [And] all the time dental care, eye care, hearing care fall off and they do those other things,” he said.
Once the clinic reaches capacity for the day, people will be turned away at the door. But Young said the clinic partners with Catholic Charities to connect people to free or deeply discounted health care services if they can’t be treated this weekend. He said about 400 people took advantage of this connection to care last year.
The clinic has grown significantly since its inception in 2017. According to Young, about 670 patients were treated during the first year; and last year, 1,676 patients were treated. The clinic delivered $2.37 million in services last year with the help of nearly 2,000 volunteers.
Organizers said for some, the Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh clinic is their sole engagement with health care all year. Some patients haven’t seen a dentist in decades, they added.
“Here, patients find relief and dignity,’ said Richard Celko, chief dental officer at UPMC Health Plan. “Dental teams restore oral health. Vision and hearing screenings restore quality of life. Most importantly, patients feel like someone cares about them and that they matter.”