To improve the quality of dental care on campuses in rural communities, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) cooperated with the Tainan City Government and the Tainan Dental Association in drafting the "Children Support Program - Dental Care Equipment for Elementary Schools in Rural Areas of Tainan." This program has received a donation of NT$1.68 million from the Rotary International to procure dental care equipment. The donation ceremony was held in the Gang Dong Elementary School in Xigang District, Tainan City on the 8th of this month.
The NHIA remains committed to optimizing medical care in rural communities, utilizing dedicated funds to encourage dentists to be committed to services on campuses in rural communities, thereby improving the convenience for those seeking dental care. In 2020, there were 47 dental clinics in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan, while dental services for communities without sufficient medical resources have reached 6,035 hours and 13,591 individuals. The dental services in the form rural campus tour have reached 10,613 individuals (11,246 times), which accounts for 78% of all who have sought dental care.
On-campus dental care requires dentists to bring equipment themselves to set up provisional service areas at entrance halls, corridors, vacant classrooms or nurse's offices on campuses, thus making the preparatory work time-consuming and cumbersome, thus affecting the dentists' willingness to provide such service. Director-General of the NHIA Lee Po-Chang expressed gratitude to the Rotary International and the enthusiastic supports from its members by donating dental chairs and related equipment to be installed on campuses, so that medical personnel can provide dental services in rural communities. It is also hoped that school principals and opinion leaders in local communities can therefore pay more attention to local needs as a starting point of building up public health care in rural communities, thereby disseminating the benefits of collaboration between the public and private sectors.