Dental Health | 30 Days, 30 Clinicians

[Editor’s Note: Happy Birthday, Migrant Clinicians Network! To celebrate our 30th anniversary this month, we are highlighting one clinician each day who has been honored in 30 Clinicians Making a Difference​​​, in which we profile the work of 30 diverse migrant clinicians from across the country and abroad. Today, MCN's CEO, Karen Mountain, writes about honored clinician John McFarland, who was a member of one of MCN's first board of directors.]

Under that low-key and smiling exterior is a man driven by a single desire to change access to dental care for everyone. In the almost 30 years that I have known John McFarland, he has never wavered from his personal mission to change the health outcomes for an entire generation of people through early and ongoing access to dental services.

That tenacity has made a huge difference in the design of Patient Centered Medical Homes throughout Federally Qualified Health Centers, and on the focus and funding for oral health in Washington. John served as one of the first Chairs of the MCN Board of Directors, shaping our continued sensitivity to the critical need for more dentists and a greater focus on dentists as part of the clinical team. He went on to create an organization with his same single focused mission, the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA). When the discussion got focused on medical needs, John used to have to constantly remind everyone to not forget dental; his motto used to be, “...and dental,” but not anymore. We have been gentled into clarity about the critical importance of oral health.

Read Dr. John McFarland's profile here.

Help us honor the work of Dr. McFarland by sharing his profile. And, make sure to check out the profiles of all 30 clinicians at the 30 Clinicians Making a Difference webpage.

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