HUTCHINSON, Kan. — PrairieStar Health Center is ramping up a fundraising campaign for a new dental facility, with a family-friendly comedy event at the Fox Theatre serving as the public kickoff for the effort.
PrairieStar CEO Bryant Anderson said the health center must raise $676,300 within the next 10 months to unlock a $600,000 challenge grant that would help fund the project.
“If we don’t raise the entire amount, we don’t get a single penny of that challenge grant,” Anderson said.
The proposed dental complex would be built immediately west of PrairieStar’s current facility and would allow the organization to expand both in-clinic care and its outreach services across south-central Kansas.
Anderson said the project would increase PrairieStar’s capacity by at least 2,000 additional patients per year, a number he called conservative.
“We know there’s no question we can increase that number beyond the 2,000, but 2,000 was a conservative number that we felt that we could be able to treat in addition to what we currently do,” Anderson said.
The new facility also would add more operatories, create additional space for outreach operations and include a drive-thru pharmacy.
PrairieStar currently serves a nine-county region, with outreach teams traveling to 64 school sites, as well as nursing homes and organizations serving people with disabilities. Anderson said the dental outreach program is especially important in schools, where state-required screenings can identify students with urgent oral health needs.
He cited one school where PrairieStar initially found 26% of students had an oral health need, and 86% of those students were in urgent condition, including pain, infections and severe decay. After continued work with students, parents and school staff, PrairieStar reduced the percentage of students with oral health needs to 15%, while the rate of urgent cases dropped to less than 1%.
“These kids can go into the classroom. They cannot be embarrassed. They can think, they can listen, they can focus,” Anderson said. “When they would ask them questions about, ‘Are you in pain?’ these kids were just living with it. They just thought it was normal.”
Anderson also shared stories illustrating the impact of PrairieStar’s dental work, including treatment for a 4-year-old child with severe decay who became more engaged and confident after receiving care, and an elderly hospice patient in a nursing home whose final wish was to have her teeth cleaned.
“A lot of times we forget that no matter what your age, it’s important,” Anderson said. “You want to have clean teeth, and there’s dignity and respect that goes along with that.”
To help launch the campaign, PrairieStar will host “Smiles for Smiles” on April 30 at the historic Fox Theatre in Hutchinson. The event will feature comedian Rick Roberts of Nashville, Tennessee.
PrairieStar Director of Marketing & Public Relations Kyran Losew said the show is designed to be affordable and accessible for families.
“It’s family friendly, so we’re really excited about that,” Losew said. “We really want to encourage everyone to come out, just have a good time with us. We won’t really try to sell you anything. We’ll talk about our dental clinic, but we really just want to have a good time with the community.”
The show begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $40. Tickets purchased online carry an additional handling fee, while tickets also can be purchased by phone or in person through the Fox Theatre box office.
PrairieStar also is accepting direct donations toward the campaign through its website pshcks.org, where supporters can find contact information and naming opportunities tied to the project. You may also reach PrairieStar by calling it's phone number 620-663-8484.
Anderson said the fundraising push is critical because PrairieStar does not receive local tax support and relies heavily on grants and private donations to expand services.
“We don’t receive any local support like some other nonprofits do,” Anderson said. “So we’re very reliant on these other grants, if we can get them.”