Impressions
Could you come to Erie to help our MOM?
by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
Yes you read that right. If you have not heard by now, the MOM-n-PA( Mission of Mercy in Pennsylvania) will be held on June 16-17, 2017 in Erie. I can tell you that the members of the Erie Country Dental Association and Ninth District Dental Society are very excited to have MOM here, and to showcase our town to the volunteers who will make the journey to northwestern Pennsylvania. And again … YES ERIE!
For all of you who do not know where that is, I can assure you it is still in Pennsylvania, not in New York state or Ohio; and I can guarantee if you come to Erie in June you will not see a snowflake and in fact will experience our town at its absolute best weather-wise. Why not plan to stay a couple extra days and hang out at the beach at Presque Isle State Park? You may think you are“ down the( Jersey) shore,” but without the salt water. I doubt many of you may ever come this way again, so make the most of this trip!
I am sure most of you have all heard of MOM-n-PA by now, and most have probably volunteered your time and talents at one of the previous four MOM events. It is an amazing event at which to volunteer. I can recall the first time that my wife Mary and I attended MOM-n-PA, in Allentown in 2014. I was president of your Pennsylvania Dental Association and felt obligated to be there. We trekked the 370-mile, almost 6-hour trip to be a part of the mission. It was rise and shine at 4:00 a. m. on Friday to get to the Allentown Agri-Plex grounds by 5:30 a. m. I still remember, even in the dark, seeing a long line of folks( some who had waited all night) and then being greeted by Dr. Ron Heier first thing inside the building that morning and seeing the smile on his face. Did he know something we didn’ t? After a quick breakfast and orientation Mary was off to Medical Triage( she is an RN) and I was off to the restorative area to get set up for my first patient. I remember the anxiety of not knowing who that would be or what procedure I would be doing. I also felt a little apprehensive not treating a patient in my own chair back at the office with my own equipment, but I was there to help the underserved and I was ready to do my part. I still think about that cavernous building that once housed farm animals, that had now been converted into a fully functioning dental clinic with a registration area, medical and dental triage, radiology, routing, dental hygiene, restorative, oral surgery and endodontics treatment areas, as well as a pharmacy, sterilization, central supply areas and a dental lab. Oh, and not to leave out the food service area that would feed the 1,000 volunteers. And all this happened in less than 24 hours!
I was able to treat about seven or eight patients that first day and everyone was just so thankful and happy to have had a tooth or teeth restored. Mary said the same thing about the folks she had met that day. Everyone was just so grateful to have the opportunity to get some dental treatment and those folks had not even been seen in the clinic at that point. I did have a chance to talk with a few of the legislators on hand and spoke with some of the media, but that day was not about your president or your PDA, but about the volunteers that had come from all across Pennsylvania to spend a day or two taking care of those in dental need.
We both came back for the second day of the clinic and once our shifts concluded, both of us already had decided we would
PDA leaders at the 2016 MOM-n-PA dental mission. From left to right – Dr. Bruce Terry, president-elect; Dr. Michael Cerveris, president 2002-03; Dr. William Spruill, president 2010-11; Dr. Bernie Dishler, president 2012-13; Dr. Herbert Ray, current president; Dr. Linda Himmelberger, president 2006-07; Dr. Andrew Kwasny, president 2009-10 and current ADA trustee; Dr. Stephen Radack, president 2014-15; Dr. William Glecos; president 2000-01.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 5