Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC) will hold a Children’s Oral Health Fair 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 19, at which dentists will provide free visual exams and fluoride varnish applications.

The fair will be at Goleta Neighborhood Dental Clinic, 164 Kinman Ave. Free dental gift bags, donated by Direct Relief, will also be available.

Events are planned nationwide as part of National Health Center Week, Aug. 13-19.

The campaign’s goal is to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of community health centers like SBNC, which provides medical, dental and behavioral health services at six locations in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Isla Vista.

SBNC serves more than 20,000 members of the community.

The national focus for Aug. 19 is children’s health day, where the Children’s Oral Health Fair will focus on ensuring kids and their parents understand how important taking care of their teeth is to their overall health.

One of the bright spots in America’s health-care system, community health centers serve some 25 million Americans, a number that grows along with the demand for affordable primary care. They have compiled a record of success that includes:

» Producing $24 billion in annual health system savings
» Reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room
» Treating patients for a fraction of the average cost of one emergency room visit
» Maintaining patient satisfaction levels of nearly 100 percent
» Serving more than one in six Medicaid beneficiaries for less than 2 percent of the national Medicaid budget

Health centers not only prevent illness and foster wellness in the most challenging populations, they produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities.

They reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and opioid addiction.

Due to their long record of success in innovation, managing health care costs, and reducing chronic disease, health centers have a tradition of bipartisan support in Congress.

For more information about SBNC, visit www.sbclinics.org.

— Tiana Riskowski for Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.