The Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services in February received the 2022 VA Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award for Innovative State Programs for its Maine Veterans’ Dental Network from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Since 2011, the VA has recognized its state partners for programs and initiatives that support veterans in their respective states. The award was presented to MBVS Acting Deputy Director Steven Lanning by VA Secretary Denis Richard McDonough at the 2022 National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs Mid-Winter Conference held in Alexandria, Virginia.
This year’s award is in recognition of the bureau’s creation of the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network, which through a $100,000 grant from Northeast Delta Dental, connects veterans who cannot afford to pay out of pocket, do not have dental insurance, and/or do not receive their oral healthcare from the VA to participating dental clinics in the community.
This is the bureau’s fourth consecutive Pillar of Excellence Award, having been recognized previously for its 2020 Maine Justice Action Committee (improving services to justice affected veterans), 2019 work to end veterans’ homelessness, and 2018 veteran suicide prevention efforts, according to a news release from the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services in Augusta.
“This well-deserved award is recognition of a critical service offered by Maine Veterans’ Dental Network,” said Tom Raffio, president and CEO, Northeast Delta Dental. “Access to oral healthcare can increase a veterans’ confidence, restore their ability to eat and improve their overall wellbeing. So, we are grateful and honored for the platform that MVDN provides to carry out our mission of advancing the oral health of our underserved veterans.”
For more information or to access the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network, contact Sarah Sherman, director of strategic partnerships with the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services in Augusta, at 207-430-5816 or sarah.sherman@maine.gov.
To review the bureau’s online dental care information or needs assessment report, go to maine.gov.
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