A near-constant stream of cars zipping along a busy stretch of King Street can be enough to deter a mom with toddlers in tow from braving a pedestrian crossing to get to a pediatrician or dental appointment on the other side.

In recent years, an annual average of only 2,000 of the 6,000 needy families enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children federal nutrition program have ventured across the street to the Kalihi-Palama Health Center to attend to regular medical and dental needs, said Dr. Emmanuel Kintu, health center CEO.

Ginny Coe, director of the WIC program, said she noticed about two years ago that some of the young children who accompanied their mothers to the office at 888 N. King St. were in dire need of a dentist. “Their teeth were rotting out,” Coe said. So she persuaded health center executives to have a dentist conduct preliminary dental exams on children in the WIC waiting room, with referrals for later appointments.

At that time, the health center’s main clinic was located at 915 N. King St., and other departments were housed in three separate buildings spread out along King — all situated across the street from the WIC office.

In late July, a newly renovated two-story building on WIC’s side of the street at 710 N. King St. became home to some of the health center’s operations — and WIC also moved in.

Now, mothers picking up food and milk coupons may also have their children see a dentist and, soon, a pediatrician in the building.

Pediatric care is expected to be in place within the next few months, along with adult medicine and obstetrics. Also, Kintu said, the center has added three dental chairs in the new building, which will help reduce its six-month backlog for treating dental patients.

Dentist Jennifer Tan Heahlke said on Tuesday she sees as many as 27 children, and on the average about 15, during the time she sets aside for one-minute exams in the WIC waiting room. During the exam, she places a young patient’s head on her lap while a parent or guardian holds the child’s arms and cradles the rest of the little body on the lap.

“Ideally, we want to catch them when they are a year old. … Even if they didn’t have Medicaid or QUEST, we’d never turn down a patient here,” she said, adding, “Almost 90 percent follow up and come to see me. It’s convenient and it’s a continuum of care with the same provider.”

The kids typically come from “underserved” populations on Oahu, Tan Heahlke said, noting that many are also in “high-risk” populations, especially if they’re homeless. “The last thing they’re thinking of is brushing their children’s teeth when they are looking for food and shelter,” she said. “I see cavities in almost every single child. It’s very needed.”

Coe said the WIC staff of 12 speaks Chinese/Mandarin, Chuukese, Filipino, Marshallese, Samoan and Vietnamese, and are available to provide English interpretation for medical services at the health center. Non-English-speaking needy families “come from all over the island” for doctor visits because they feel more comfortable, she said.

Kalihi-Palama Health Center’s ultimate goal is to house all of its services in a single site.

Plans are in the works for a second building, but the $10 million project is a year behind schedule due to electrical complications and a cumbersome permit process. An environmental impact statement has yet to be approved for the planned three-story building, the first floor of which will be used as a parking lot. The just-renovated building has a 40-space parking lot.

Initially, the price tag for the second building was estimated at $9 million, most of which was raised through federal and state grants. Another $1 million needs to be found to cover the cost of delays. Kintu hopes the funds will be raised by the 40th anniversary celebration Sept. 22. Visit kphc.org/gala for details.

Tentative plans for a third phase are a few years in the future, depending on how much need there is for expansion. One possibility includes taking over space occupied by the Shim Hall, which belongs to St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church. Through that plan the church would be allowed to use a commercial kitchen installed in the health center’s second building, and KPHC would build the church a new hall. The health center is now using the church parking lot for employee parking.