H A R R I S B U R G S M I L E S
Dr . Gould further expanded on this mission .
“ The purpose of this committee was to provide the public with raw numbers of what we , as dentists , give back to the community in initiatives that are already present and working , come up with sheer numbers to provide the public – and governor – of what the results are of what dentists are already doing , make the public more aware of Access to Care and what they can do to help , and even where they can go to receive dental care , and finally , the purpose of the Task Force was to create a program to provide dental care to the underserved in our area ,” he said . The first part of the committee ’ s purpose came rather easily . The Fifth District Dental Society Executive Committee , under the direction of then Fifth District president Dr . Jim Boyle , created a survey to ask area dentists what they were doing for Access to Care without receiving any compensation . This included all of the hours that dentists donate to the underserved at their own practices and offices without billing or collecting any payment . Gould explained that the total hours of pro bono work from HADS members is higher than what most people would imagine , and that it is very difficult to place a dollar figure on the dental care donated to the underserved in the Harrisburg area and throughout the Fifth District . “ Like many of my colleagues , volunteering within the community is a big part of [ our ] joy in doing dentistry everyday . I do a lot of work for the West Shore School District and have a relationship with them where they will call me and I will see their kids for no fee ,” Dr . Gould said . “ I also volunteer my time with HADS when we do clinics and public appearances , and finally , I have donated my time at the Mission of Mercy – a church organization in downtown Harrisburg run within the Christ Lutheran church , which HADS past president John Kiessling has been in charge of for more than five years .”
The next phase of the task force ’ s goals , and a monumental one — to create a comprehensive program to care for the underserved — has taken two years to implement due to its complexity , clearing all of the significant logistical hurdles as the initial idea has grown exponentially . The HADS Task Force members originally thought that they would create a network that would link all
The group ’ s mission statement is , “ To act as a conduit of emergency dental care for the underserved dental populations and help match those dental needs with the available resources in our dental community .” of the underserved population , both adults and children , to a phone number or a central station where they would receive a dental screening . The task force considered Harrisburg Area Community College ( HACC ) as a possible central station for this effort before realizing that there were several issues that would have to be resolved , including funding .
“ We all had ideas and thoughts , but had trouble getting the plan in place . We were running into logistics problems and how to put it all together – especially something as monumental as a central station and a published phone number ,” Dr . Gould said .
At that point , Highmark Blue Shield contacted Dr . Gould to set up a meeting to discuss HADS efforts . Eventually , Dr . Gould and Dr . Harry Meyers , who chairs the HADS Committee on Access to Care and Outreach , took part in a roundtable discussion at Highmark ’ s headquarters that greatly enhanced the proposed efforts . Drs . Gould and Meyers learned that Highmark had money available for access to care initiatives and would be accepting proposals for grants . This was a valuable resource previously unknown to HADS .
All of this contributed to the construction of an umbrella organization called Harrisburg SMILES , where several partners have been able to coordinate efforts . A coalition was born , and HADS began fine-tuning a model with two central screening or contact areas serving Harrisburg-area both the East and West Shores of the Susquehanna River , with a network that would help those two entities handle the treatment of needy patients and refer them to get the proper treatment they need .
“ We found out that Hamilton Health Center in Harrisburg , Christ Lutheran Church , and Good Hope Ministry through Holy Spirit ’ s Health Share program are willing and able to help
36 September / October 2010 • Pennsylvania Dental Journal