New Lease on Life for Dental Clinic

CLINICS OFFERING INEXPENSIVE MEDICAL CARE TO U–P RESIDENTS ON MEDICARE OR MEDICAID ARE IN HIGH DEMAND.

Clinics offering inexpensive medical care to U.P. residents on Medicaid are in high demand.

One of them, on Washington Street in Marquette, had its lease run out last week.

A new one isn’t in place yet.

But that situation should be fixed tonight.

The Marquette County Health Department is trying to renew its lease with the Veridea Group for a county-wide dental clinic.

The clinic started at the beginning of 2008 with a 2-and-a-half-year lease.

Health Department health officer Fred Benzie says the new lease is a lot longer — 7 years.

Last year, the clinic had more than 7,000 patient visits from nearly 2,700 different patients.

Benzie expects the demand for the clinic’s services to grow quickly in the coming years.

The Marquette County Board still has to approve the lease before it can be signed.

They’re expected to do that during their meeting tonight, which started a few minutes ago at the Marquette County courthouse annex.