Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. has received the Best Practices in Rural Health Award from the Virginia Rural Health Association.
The accolade was presented Nov. 19 at the association’s annual luncheon at Wintergreen Resort in Roseland, Virginia, recognizing organizations that enhance health care in rural communities.
Since 1993, Eastern Shore Rural Health has partnered with Accomack County Public Schools—and, beginning in 2022, Northampton County schools—to provide dental care directly to students.
The program operates clinics in five schools and a mobile initiative, the Traveling Oral Health Prevention Program (TOPs), reaching every other public school on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. These efforts deliver preventive care and treatment for dental issues that might otherwise go untreated.
“School-based dental programs are critical in rural areas,” said Dr. Scott Wolpin, Rural Health Chief Dental Officer. “Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease—four times more prevalent than asthma.
Poor oral health can cause pain, missed school days, and affect learning and behavior. Our program supports school nurses by offering quick care for students in dental distress.”
From June 2024 to May 2025, the program provided more than 5,700 dental appointments across both counties, including care for 85 children with special health needs.
A notable achievement: 78% of children ages 6 to 9 received dental sealants, which prevent cavities for years—well above the state average of 54% and the national average of 58%, according to Dr. Wolpin.
One case highlights the program’s impact. An eight-year-old boy, referred by a school nurse due to severe dental pain, had lost his father, had an incarcerated mother, and was being cared for by his grandmother.
With multiple abscesses and no healthy back teeth, his Medicaid coverage had expired. Rural Health restored his coverage through the Virginia Department of Medical Services and arranged hospital treatment in Norfolk, with an outreach worker accompanying the family. After surgery, his grandmother said he was “like a different child”—pain-free and thriving in school.
“This is why school-based dental programs matter,” said Rural Health CEO Jeannette Edwards. “They change lives and strengthen our communities.”
