Baton Rouge children to benefit from free dental screening on May 6, 2008
DALLAS, May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Affiliated Computer Services,
Inc. (ACS) is expanding its national Dental Outreach Initiative to
Louisiana to aid the state's school children. The program is now available
in seven states and the District of Columbia.
ACS will launch the initiative by sponsoring a free dental education
and screening for children on Tuesday, May 6, at Forest Heights Elementary
School, 7447 Sumrall Drive, Baton Rouge, starting at 1:00 p.m. Since the
ACS Dental Outreach Initiative was launched in Georgia in 2004, more than
26,000 children have received dental education.
The program, conducted in partnership with The Dental Clinic of Dr.
Crear and Associates, provides free dental education and screenings to
underserved children. ACS is launching the initiative in Louisiana with a
goal of educating and screening approximately 2,000 children. Along with
Baton Rouge, ACS plans to sponsor multiple screenings in other Louisiana
schools in the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.
"As corporate residents of Louisiana, we are concerned about the health
and well-being of our neediest children," said Christopher T. Deelsnyder,
ACS senior vice president and managing director, Government Healthcare
Solutions. "Together with our partners, we hope to teach these children
that practicing good dental hygiene will have a profound impact on their
health for years to come."
ACS' more than 200 employees in Louisiana provide state government
services such as managing the Medicaid CommunityCARE Primary Care case
management program, processing child support payments, and operating the
Louisiana Customer Service Center for family support programs.
Additionally, ACS operates the 311 non-emergency services system and
Emergency Medical Services billing services for the city of New Orleans.
The ACS Dental Initiative provides free dental screenings and education
seminars on dental hygiene by licensed professionals. To reinforce what
they learn during the seminars, students receive a gift bag containing a
toothbrush, toothpaste, t-shirts, and dental education material. In
addition, children receive a screening evaluation and a recommendation
report to share with their parents or guardian.
For many children, the ACS Dental Initiative screening will be their
first dental check-up. In fact, the American Dental Association (ADA) and
the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that children from
low-income families are less likely to see a dentist regularly, and suffer
twice as many dental cavities as their peers. In addition, pain and
suffering due to untreated disease lead to problems in eating, speaking and
paying attention in school. The ADA and the AAP also note that 51 million
school hours are lost each year as a result of dental-related problems.
"The ACS Dental Outreach Initiative is our way of reaching into
communities throughout the state to help Louisiana children have not only
healthy smiles, but healthy futures as well," said Deelsnyder.
Along with Louisiana, the initiative benefits children in Florida,
Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of
Columbia.
ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with 63,000 people supporting client
operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process
outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial
and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." Learn more about ACS at
http://www.acs-inc.com.
SOURCE Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.acs-inc.com
CONTACT:
Andy Wilson, Director, Corporate
Communications of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.,
+1-214-841-8004, andy.wilson@acs-inc.com
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