The Sonoma Valley Community Health Center has hired Dr. Kishore Shetty as the director of its new Dental Clinic and Joseph Cutler, MSW and LCSW, as the new director of the Behavioral Health Services Clinic.
“We are fortunate that our dedicated and talented staff continues to grow as we expand our services to improve the health of the Sonoma Valley community,” said Cheryl Johnson, SVCHC CEO. “Dr. Shetty’s extensive oral health background and Mr. Cutler’s behavioral medicine career provides the clinic the necessary tools to enhance our services in these critical need areas.”
Dr. Shetty’s educational training began in Bombay, India and has taken him to the Royal College of Surgeons at the University of London, the University of Texas at Austin, Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, Royal College of Surgeons in Scotland and Harvard University. Licensed to practice dentistry in seven states, he is board certified by the American Board of Hospital Dentistry, the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology, and the American College of Oral Implantology. He is published in a number of professional journals of dentistry and has received numerous honors and awards for his work, most notably a Fellowship in the National Academies of Practice.
In his new role, Dr. Shetty will oversee all dental services, as well as the administration of the new, 1,814 sq. ft. Dental Clinic which will have six dental chair stations The new clinic, which cost $1.5 million to build, will open shortly, Johnson said. The new Dental Clinic is the first and only local dental clinic to address the needs of many of Sonoma Valley’s adults and children.
According to a 2010 study conducted by the Sonoma County Task Force on Oral Health, there were only 15 dentists for 109,000 low-income dental patients countywide. The Task Force characterized this as a local health care crisis. As a result, 52 percent of area third-graders have a history of tooth decay — well above the California state average.
“As a long time advocate for the Sonoma community, I have seen the need for improved access to medical care, and especially dental care, for our residents,” said Reverend Rich Gantenbein, a member of the Health Center’s Board of Directors. “Our diverse population ranges from low to moderate income, and from newborns to the elderly. Each of these communities has special needs. The new Community Health Center offers an opportunity to overcome many of the obstacles we face in providing quality health services to our entire community.”
Cutler will oversee the Behavioral Health Services Clinic providers. He received his Bachelor of Arts from California State University, San Jose and a M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley. As a licensed clinical social worker, Cutler began his career at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo and has been affiliated with other Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers since 1993.
Most recently, Cutler was a Behavioral Medicine Consultant to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Santa Rosa. He and his wife live in Sonoma and have two children.
The center, located at 19270 Sonoma Highway, is the largest provider of primary medical services to Medi-Cal, low income, and uninsured patients in Sonoma Valley.
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