Wlaf1450By Charlotte Underwood
CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN. (WLAF)- Dr. Geogy Thomas with Day Spring Health gave a presentation to the Campbell County Board of Education during its meeting held at Jacksboro Middle School on Tuesday evening. Thomas, along with one of the clinic’s dental hygienists addressed the BOE regarding a dental screening and health program that the clinic would be offering to students K-5th grade in Jellico, with funding through the Elgin Children’s Foundation.
“Today we want to talk to you all about a project that we want to partner with Campbell County on, it is the Elgin Foundation’s Dental Program, dental screening that we want to offer for the schools in Jellico,” Thomas said.
According to its website, the Elgin Children’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization “created to ensure that children, no matter what their background or status in life, have full access to dental care and reading assistance.”
Thomas explained that the Elgin Children’s Foundation program offers initial screenings at schools for K-5th grade in the elementary schools.
“These screenings are basically where dental providers come into the schools, look at their teeth to see what kids are at risk. We then basically do preventative care right on campus and if they are in need of a higher level of care, we identify those kids and work out a plan to get them the care they need,” Thomas said.
Day Springs is in Kentucky and Tennessee and has already been offering this program in 10 schools in Kentucky and now wants to expand these dental screenings to the Tennessee side of the mountain.
According to Thomas, Day Springs Health plans to expand the program to 6th through 12th grade students next year in Kentucky on ‘Day Springs dime.” The Elgin Foundation helps fund the program for K through 5th grade students.
“We really want to take care of our Tennessee kids, I have lived in Jellico for 25 years, I’m a family physician and so I see my kids that come into the Jellico clinics, I know we have partnered with you all for school health in the past and we’re back, we want to figure out a way to take care of our kids in Jellico,” Thomas said. The program has three parts, the initial screening, then a second visit to schools to provide preventative care such as teeth cleaning and x-rays. Day Spring Health is also in the process of getting a “mobile dental van” to treat students at schools.
Last year, Day Springs cleaned about 500 children’s teeth in Whitley County.
Thomas said he wanted to get the program started in Tennessee in Jellico’s K-through 5th graders, that if it went well, he hoped to expand it throughout Campbell County eventually.
He assured the BOE that the program was “not going to cost the county or school a dime, that the Elgin Foundation and Day Spring will cover the cost. For students to participate in the program, the only thing that is required is they must have a parental consent form signed.
“We just want to take care of our kids on the Tennessee side, like we do on the Kentucky side,” Thomas said.
Director of Schools Jennifer Fields said she looked forward to “hopefully being able to participate in this program.”
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 5/15/2025-6AM)