The program also carries out training for its professional staff. Children now can receive emergency care even if they have not been identified through the school screening program. The program is being expanded to run through the summer to provide both regular and emergency care for children. Today there are approximately 300,000 school children in the four governates. There are over 400 staff involved in the program, from chairside caregivers to assistants, administrators, educators, and coordinators.
Funding is entirely by the Kuwait government.
This program is efficient, works well within Kuwait, and serves the needs of the school children. Because the program eventually will be run entirely by the Kuwaitis, they are being trained in all aspects, from the direct professional chairside care delivery through all of the administrative channels - which are significantly different in Kuwait than they would be in the United States. In a sense, then, Forsyth's original mission of providing oral health care to school children has come full-circle through Kuwait, bringing the professional skills of this venerable institution to children who are in need.