A Holiday First for Mission Creek Corrections Center

January 15, 2025

The Washington State Department of Corrections has received the first-ever mobile dental clinic for incarcerated individuals in the US. This innovative facility is a fully operational dental clinic housed within a state-of-the-art forty-foot-long recreational vehicle. It features two dental chairs, x-ray capabilities, and a dedicated sterilization area, ensuring comprehensive dental services can be provided directly to the state's minimum-security camps.

The clinic addresses the long-standing issue of limited access to dental care for incarcerated individuals housed in standalone minimum-security camps, which may disrupt their participation in critical rehabilitation programs, pulling them away from valuable opportunities for personal development and public service, such as those that support the Department of Natural Resources in wildfire fighting efforts.

Department of Corrections opted for the mobile solution over constructing brick and mortar dental clinics at each camp due to its cost effectiveness and quicker implementation. Building new facilities would have taken up to three years and required significantly more funding. In contrast, the mobile dental clinic was completed in under a year, utilizing funds from the surplus generated by the warm closure of Larch Corrections Center.

This initiative is a revolutionary step in correctional healthcare, demonstrating Washington's commitment to innovative, efficient solutions that benefit both the incarcerated population and the state at large.

"This dental van is state of the art, provides a whole host of services, everything from filling cavities to X-rays and everything in between," says Sean Murphy, Deputy Secretary "We're really excited about this, and this is the next step in our movement in creating a system that's more humane for incarcerated individuals".