Good news for QLD members with Westfund confirming the purchase of premises in Mackay to house a state of the art 6 chair dental practice with a projected total investment of between 3 and 4 million dollars.

Westfund Health Insurance CEO Grahame Danaher and Chief Dental Officer Herdeza Verzosa have just returned from a whirlwind visit to Portland Oregon to assess the very latest dental technology at A-DEC (Austin Dental Equipment Company), considered to be the largest dental equipment makers in the world. Westfund adopted a passionate stance on the lack of dental services a few years ago by constructing its first state of the art dental practice in the central west of NSW and recruiting dental graduates from outside of Australia, who now see around 350 patents a week.

Westfund’s commitment to preventative dental care presently equates to over 1 million dollars each year and its now set to double with the Mackay purchase. It’s a dental service it hopes to expand on even further with the fund already eyeing off potential sites to the south in Rockhampton. Westfund Chief Dental Officer Dr. Herdeza Verzosa says the Mackay practice will be similar to the NSW model. “We will be adopting a preventative approach to oral care and providing the large Mackay member base with access to the latest dental equipment and infection control measures to improve the general health outcome for individuals.” Mrs. Verzosa said.

Westfund CEO Grahame Danaher is confident the new dental practice will improve dental waiting times in the area and most importantly, provide affordable dental services with a high percentage of no “out of pocket” expenses for members. He said dental health is becoming one of this countries most important health issues facing regional communities.

“With projections of 500,000 people waiting on public dental treatment and around 300,000 of these in desperate need of oral care I think our investment makes sense. Future growth in Mackay through the mining boom will no doubt put added pressure on these types of services and we need to think about the consequences of poor oral health.” Mr. Danaher said. The Westfund Dental Practice in Sydney Street Mackay will also house an Eyewear Practice and should be operational in 2012.