“I’ve always had an interest in public health and wanted to remain in the southwest,” Dr. Kim Espinoza recalls. Those two requests weren’t hard to fulfill as a member of the National Health Service Corps. Dr. Kim Espinoza, an NHSC dentist, currently practices in Albuquerque, NM at the Carrie Tingley Hospital Dental Clinic. Carrie Tingley focuses on children and adults with disabilities including Autism, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Attention Deficit Disorder, among other disabilities. When Dr. Espinoza arrived at her site in 2006, she replaced the dentist on staff after he retired. Her clinic is unique in that all of the 1,500 active patients are individuals with developmental disabilities (60 percent adults and 40 percent children). The clinic has two chairs, one operated by Dr. Espinoza and the other by Elmer Gonzalez, a dental hygienist, who is also an NHSC member. This special clinic is one of only two clinics like it in New Mexico, the other is run by the Department of Health.
In her current position she sees patients in a clinic setting as well as an operating room setting and oversees residents. In 2011, two of her current residents attended the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) conference to present research on developmental disabilities, including the application of motivational interviewing to persons with special needs. SCDA focuses on geriatrics, hospital care, and care for persons with disabilities. Dr. Espinoza recently received fellowship recognition from and joined the Board of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities, a component organization of the SCDA.
As if these endeavors weren’t enough, Kim recently completed her Master’s in Public Health, with a concentration in oral health and the quality of life for persons with disabilities, and she graduated with distinction. She also recently received a one- year continuation to the NHSC that will eliminate all of her existing educational debt, after which she plans to remain at her site. Along with her husband who is a classical and tango musician from Costa Rica, and her new baby boy, Kim resides in Albuquerque with their two dogs and two cats.
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