Reflections of MOM-n-PA 2019
Someone needed me in Triage or someone needed me at
Registration. Voices in my radio earpiece continued to shout
questions. I stopped by Registration to see how many patients
had entered and how the line was outside. It looked good. We
were going to see a lot of patients today.
When you get up at 3:30 a.m., by 11 a.m. you have been up for
almost 8 hours, a full work day. But we would not be leaving
before 5 p.m. These are long days for all of the volunteers. The
commitment and energy by all of our volunteers each year is
remarkable. With so many returning each year it validates the
joy it brings to each of us to be part of something so important
to a community.
The afternoon crowd arrived around 11:30 a.m. to register and
pass through orientation and hospitality. Around that time I was
reminding the Leads that they should start organizing breaks for
the morning volunteers and preparing for a new crew. It’s amazing
how seamlessly the transition occurred as some volunteers either
take a lunch break or leave and others come in for the afternoon
session.
After 1 p.m. we got a good idea of how many patients per hour
we were seeing and looked at the line of patients waiting and
made a decision as to when to cut off new patients for the day.
This is crucial, otherwise the volunteers would be working until
7 p.m. On Friday the line slowed and the patients trickled in. We
closed our doors on Friday at 3 p.m. The volunteers finished the
last of the patients, and as all the patients were exiting volunteers
were packing up and leaving.
The Leads always meet after the first day. We try to fix any issues
that we encountered. Many suggestions and solutions are covered
and it always makes Saturday more fluid. Friday night is usually a
thank you dinner for all volunteers. It’s a great time to celebrate
the great day we had and share some stories. It’s an early night
because most of us are getting up at 5 a.m., and some of us
before 4 a.m. I made another stop at Staples, Lowes and Walmart
before returning to my hotel. I got to bed around 10 p.m.
I was up again at 3:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived at the arena
by 4 a.m. As I entered the parking lot I looked to see how many
patients were in line. Saturday morning’s line looked shorter than
Friday’s. Would we have enough patients today? I entered the
arena and it was quiet with lights at 50% power. It’s usually me
and Gary walking around to see that everything is ready for
another day. I might empty and box up infectious waste or fix
signs, move chairs or tables.
There’s no coffee until after 5:30. Ugh!
We let in 150 patients again and started up the compressors
and vacuum systems and were ready for another day. We did
see more than 800 patients on Friday. How many would we see
today? New volunteers were coming in and getting the orientation.
The dental students arrived and dispersed throughout the event.
This year Dr. Kelly Holst helped move students around in what we
all felt was the best student rotation we have had since we
started the dental mission. The students were not idle or without
jobs. Each had a chance to be in a department of their choice and
also where needed. Their spirit and enthusiasm was fantastic.
SEP TEM BER/OC TOBER 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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