Mercy Fund Awards Grant to Malta Dental and Medical Clinic

August 3, 2022

DETROIT, MI, August 3, 2022 – Thanks to a generous grant from a fund administered by the Sisters of Mercy/Hermanas de la Misericordia, uninsured Detroiters who cannot afford dentures will be getting new smiles and better health.

The Mercy Fund for Ministry recently awarded $40,000 – the fund’s maximum grant amount – to the Malta Dental and Medical Clinic in Detroit. The grant will support free dental care, including dentures – an expensive item far beyond what the Clinic’s uninsured, low-income patients could afford on their own.

“The absence of dental care has an enormous impact on general health, especially for diabetics,” explained Mary Ellen Howard, RSM, a Sister of Mercy and Malta Clinic board member who supported the Clinic’s grant application. “So this grant is addressing a critical health need in metro Detroit.”

Sr. Howard, who twice served as CEO of Mercy Hospitals in Michigan, was also director of Detroit's Cabrini Clinic, the nation’s oldest free medical clinic, for 20 years. There she saw many patients “who had not seen a dentist since they were children, if ever, and some only had a few teeth left.” Trying to find free dental care for these patients, Sr. Howard learned of the Malta Clinic, and was impressed with the care patients received there. “I witnessed the miraculous transformation in our clients who received dentures through the Malta Clinic. Their nutrition and health improved – and so did their self-esteem. They often came in to thank me and show me their new smiles.”

“The Malta Dental and Medical Clinic offers care to people in need,” said Sister Christine McCann, RSM, Co-Director of the Office of Ministry, Institute of the Sisters of Mercy for the Americas. “As one of many grant recipients of The Mercy Fund for Ministry Grant Program, the Malta Clinic provides a service of mercy and compassion to its community.”

Founded in 2004, the Malta Dental and Medical Clinic, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, has cared for more than 16,000 uninsured homeless, elderly, and veteran patients. In addition to providing free dentures, the Clinic’s dental care includes examinations, x-rays, dental hygiene, fillings, and tooth extractions. Medical services offered by the Clinic include care for chronic diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and eye examinations. Services are provided by volunteers: Physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists. Students from Wayne State University medical and pharmacy schools, and the University of Detroit-Mercy dental and dental hygiene schools, assist the licensed professionals.

The Sisters of Mercy/Hermanas de la Misericordia are an international community of Roman Catholic women who dedicate their lives to the Gospel of Jesus and take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and service. The order sponsors and operates more than 160 service organizations around the world, supported by tens of thousands of co-ministers, staff, and volunteers.

For more information about the Sisters of Mercy/Hermanas de la Misericordia and their ministries, visit https://www.sistersofmercy.org/. To learn more about the Malta Dental and Medical Clinic, visit https://www.maltaclinic.org/.