Bay Mills tribe opens new dental clinic and pharmacy

SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault residents have been wondering for a long time what would replace the old Soo Corner Store on Portage Street across from city hall, and this month they got their answer.

Earlier in January, the Sault Ste. Marie Dental Clinic and Pharmacy “Mitigoons” opened its doors for the first time. On Jan. 17, the clinic hosted an official ribbon cutting to welcome the new business.

The new clinic is an extension of the Bay Mills Health Center and is run and funded by the Bay Mills Indian Community.

Officials said a new dental practice is something that Sault residents have needed for a long time. Many people must drive as far as the Lower Peninsula to get dental care.

"In 2018, we did a community needs assessment, and residents at Chippewa County said that there was a need for dental services," said Lucy DeWildt, assistant director for Health and Human Services. "Then in 2020 in the global pandemic a few dental offices in the Eastern Upper Peninsula closed due to the dentist retiring, which further made the need for dental providers even greater."

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Mitigoons means "branch" in Ojibwe and is supposed to symbolize the Bay Mills Health Center branching out to help other nearby communities.

The clinic provides many dental services, and even though it doesn't include a dental lab, it does have the help and support of the larger Bay Mills Health Center and can still perform needed tests.

The clinic is accepting new patients to add to the waitlist for services. The clinic is open to the entire public, regardless of tribal status, something that is rare for tribal health center programs.

"The main campus is open to the public, that's something that not a lot of people know outside of our area," said DeWildt. "There's only one other tribal health center in Michigan open to non-tribe members."

The 3,800 square foot building will employ seven people in both the pharmacy and clinic with support from the main health center.

The clinic is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and the pharmacy will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the same days except Wednesdays, when it will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Bay Mills tribe adds dental clinic, pharmacy in Sault Ste. Marie