Dr. Ashley McMillan, Drew Ramey (Images via Lyon College)
Arkansas children in need of dental care — including those with complex medical conditions — will soon have expanded access to treatment under a new statewide partnership between Lyon College and Arkansas Children’s, which on Wednesday named the program’s first leaders.
Dr. Ashley McMillan will serve as inaugural medical director of the Arkansas Children’s Dental Program, and Drew Ramey, MPA, will serve as administrative director, the organizations announced. The two will lead clinical and operational efforts for the program, which combines hospital-based care, school-based clinics and mobile dental services to expand pediatric oral health access statewide.
McMillan is associate dean of clinical affairs at the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine and has more than a decade of experience in clinical care, graduate dental education and academic leadership. She helped develop the curriculum that led to the school’s initial accreditation as Arkansas’ first dental school.
Before joining Lyon College, McMillan held a series of leadership roles at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, most recently as director of its General Practice Residency Program. Her work has focused on curriculum development for treating medically complex patients and on strengthening interprofessional oral health education in Arkansas.
As administrative director, Ramey will oversee operations, strategic planning, outreach and administrative integration across the program’s hospital-based clinic, school-based programs and mobile dental services. He previously served as assistant executive director of the Arkansas State Dental Association and as chief strategy officer for Rock Dental Brands.
Ramey also was a founding strategic adviser to the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, where he helped guide the legislative and institutional work that established the state’s first dental school. He has also supported the Arkansas Mission of Mercy volunteer dental program.
“This partnership represents an extraordinary opportunity to improve the oral health of Arkansas’ children while creating an educational model that integrates hospital-based care, community outreach and dental education,” Ramey said in a statement. “Together, Lyon College and Arkansas Children’s are building a program that will expand access to care while preparing the next generation of dentists to serve Arkansas for decades to come.”
The program will provide hospital-based care for medically complex patients and those with special health care needs, while expanding preventive and restorative services through school-based clinics and mobile dental units statewide. It will also serve as a primary pediatric clinical training site for Lyon College dental students and residents.
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