NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana's only dental school has received a five-year, $1.8 million grant to teach students how to care for HIV and AIDS patients, and to provide such care in New Orleans and Alexandria.
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration said Thursday it's providing the money to a community-based dental partnership at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
Spokeswoman Leslie Capo says the program under Dr. Robert Barsley teaches dental and dental hygiene students how to care for HIV-positive patients, provides dental services to such patients, and monitors their care.
The students work at both the LSU HIV Outpatient Clinic in New Orleans and the Community HealthWorx Clinic in Alexandria. Barsley says the clinics have given 8,000 treatments to more than 1,100 patients.
It's the program's third grant since 2002.