BRIGHTER WAY INSTITUTE

Brighter Way Institute (BWI) provides services through two unique dental centers and a mobile dental center with a goal of expanding access to oral health care for our community’s most vulnerable individuals. Led by a diverse and prestigious twelve-member Board, Brighter Way provides comprehensive preventive services (dental assessments, x-rays, cleanings, and sealants); and restorative oral healthcare (fillings, extractions, root canals, dentures, crowns, and implants) to adults and children who face barriers to oral healthcare. Our centers include:
i. Diane & Bruce Halle Brighter Way Dental Center at the Human Services Campus - located in downtown Phoenix, this center was launched in January 2001 and is BWI’s original dental program. The Center’s long-standing target population is adults who are experiencing homelessness, veterans, seniors and the working poor. In 2022, Brighter Way announced the opening of the Thunderbirds Charities Institute for Implantology.
ii. Brighter Way Parsons Center for Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics – located west of downtown Phoenix in an economically challenged neighborhood, this center opened in July 2010. Low income children attending Title I schools in the Murphy and Isaac Elementary School Districts, are the primary target population.
iii. The Brighter Way United Healthcare Mobile Dental Center (Tooth Bus) - Since 2018, Tooth Bus has been providing remote oral health services to schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, one.n.ten young adults, and homeless encampments.
Brighter Way ascribes to the organizational sustainability model of building capacity through a diverse payor mix resulting from collaborations with community and private sector assets including AHCCCS, Veterans Affairs, Circle the City referrals (FQHC), and private payments through a sliding scale. Contributed income is raised through local philanthropic efforts. Our model of care is sustained through a balanced mix of providers consisting of Brighter Way professional staff and pro bono services provided by local and national dental professionals, dentists and registered dental hygienists. Through our innovative model, Brighter Way and our Founder, Kris Volcheck, have received multiple local and national awards indicative of excellence in providing complex oral health services to the under-served. This includes both the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader Award in 2010, and most recently, the 2018 Edward B. Shils Award for Innovation.

Factors associated with poverty are now well-documented. The existing body of evidence confirms that poverty-related lifestyle factors directly impact the health and well-being of children, families and adults alike. This is no more evident than in the critical levels of unmet oral health needs experienced by our low- income population in Maricopa County. Many drivers of poor health, oral health problems and chronic diseases result from unmet social needs, with homelessness topping the list. As individuals age, these factors are compounded with a myriad of health and social disparities, resulting in extreme vulnerability.

To address these issues, Brighter Way advances the concept of integrated delivery initiatives through collaborations and multi-disciplinary teams. Since 2005, the Brighter Way Downtown Center has embedded health equity interventions in its programming, focusing on this model to address specific social needs of its patients. Approximately 17% of people who visit the Center are diverted to other agencies where targeted social and human service resource partners have a mutual interest in providing comprehensive interventions to our most vulnerable and homeless populations, also recognizing the importance of oral health in a more holistic way. Our multi-disciplinary team is extremely proud of the expansion of the Welcome Center, the central core of the center’s operations where a triage prioritizes the health-related social needs of our patients/clients and improves service delivery.

Objectives in oral health for homeless populations are multi-faceted. Not only do we strive to improve health capacity through reduced pain, improved nutrition and ability to eat a variety of healthy foods, but as a team, we are interested in improving the overall appearance of each individual, so they are workforce ready and have increased self-esteem for interviews. We are very proud of many individuals who have transitioned from homelessness to transitional housing to independent living in permanent, affordable housing with full-time meaningful employment. This could only be made possible by working with a multi-disciplinary team. Some team members include St. Vincent de Paul, Circle the City, Community Bridges, CASS, St. Joseph’s the Worker, Andre House, Lodestar Day Resource Center, Department of Economic Security (DES), and Arizona Department of Housing.