Dental students from Temple University traveled to Tamaqua Thursday to see where they will soon be studying, practicing — and living.

A motor coach delivered the students — most of them clad in blue scrubs — from their urban campus to the site of what will be Pennsylvania’s first rural dental clinic and education center.

“We are on a very tight timeline because we want to be teaching you here in September,” said Micah Gursky, executive director of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, who spearheaded discussions with leadership from Temple’s Kornberg School of Dentistry to bring the school to the borough.

Students, along with Temple staff and administrators, joined local officials to view progress at the school, which will open inside the former Rite-Aid, 205 Center St.

They also visited the apartments being created for them at the former Schied’s Department store on West Broad Street. The long-vacant building last housed the Tire Pros.

Dr. Amid Ismail, dean of the Kornberg School of Dentistry said 10 third-year and 10 fourth-year students will receive their final training in Tamaqua. While there, he said, they will provide comprehensive care to underserved patients in Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties.

Ismail said there’s a dire need in the area, and estimated that about 18% of residents in the three-county area are on Medicaid, a federal and state assistance program that covers health costs for those with limited income and resources.

When it’s fully operational, Ismail said, the clinic will serve about 20,000 patients each year.

“Our promise is no patient will be told to go home,” Ismail said. “We will treat them if they come.”

Students introduced themselves at the beginning of the tour, which also took them to area businesses and other sites. Some are international, some grew up in different states — and two are local.

“It’s nice driving by every day and seeing my future being built right in front of me,” said 2021 Tamaqua Area High School graduate Nicholas Wall. “This is back where I want to be.”

Wall attended Lehigh Carbon Community College and then Kutztown University where he graduated last year with a degree in biology/pre-medical. He’s working at Mahoning Valley Family Dental during his “gap” year and was recently accepted by Temple.

He won’t be among the first classes, but will attend in two years.

Brian Boyle, of Barnesville, a Mahanoy Area alumnus and Temple University graduate, is a four-year dental student with Kornberg.

“My final year, I’ll be wrapping up here,” he explained.

Also local is Dr. Jennifer Vermillion, who was tapped to be among the school’s leadership. A 2011 Temple University graduate, she practices with her husband, Dr. Richard Vermillion, in Summit Hill.

“I’m honored to be a part of this groundbreaking project,” she said.

Other students, many of whom never visited Tamaqua before, said they enjoyed the charm of a small town, and wanted to study and live in a rural area.

Gursky said the 11,000 square-foot, 24-chair clinic will include a classroom and labs.

“The drywall is going up now, the electric and the HVAC is all being put in,” he said.

The building will be turned over to Temple in July, equipment will be installed in August, and classes will begin in September.

“We worked closely with the dean’s team to design the layout of the clinic based on the space that we have to make it not only a nice place to learn, but also a really good place for our patients,” Gursky said.

Plans for the dental school have been underway for a few years, and began through discussions spearheaded by Gursky with Ismail and his Temple team.

State Sen. David Argall and state Rep. Jamie Barton are supporting the much-needed school and were on hand for the tour.

Argall chaired a recent Senate Majority Policy Committee public hearing in Luzerne County focused on reversing severe workforce shortages in dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants.

It featured dental professionals, educators, insurance companies and other advocates who testified how dental workforce shortages harm people’s health. A similar hearing was held last year in Tamaqua.

“Almost one-third of Pennsylvanians do not receive regular dental care, which increases rates of opioid abuse, contributes to heart disease and overwhelms emergency rooms with preventable dental issues,” Argall said. “At the same time, more than 22% of Pennsylvania dentists are aged 65 and older, and more than 18% of our dental hygienists are aged 60 and older.”

The school, which will be called the Tamaqua Dental Education Clinic and Center, recently received its accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation for advanced and allied dental education programs.

Heim Construction, Orwigsburg, is the general contractor for the project. Dan Reigel Plumbing and Heating, Tamaqua, and Albarell Electric, Bethlehem, are also on board.