Thrive-Health Guide Southern West Virginia August 2020 - Page 25

Donna Argabright, a receptionist for Dr. Kevin Bailey, takes Oceana resident James Hiltibidal’s temperature in the
parking lot before his exam.
and for the community, there is
nothing better than that,” Bailey
said. “A lot of my colleagues that
practice in other states, they’ll
tell me a lot of the dentists there
would not create a chain like that,
but the dentists around here —
they’re all absolutely fantastic
people. We all pulled together
and we try to help each other no
matter what and not just through
the COVID but through any other
challenges.
“My daughter had cancer back
a few years ago, and the dentists
around this area were just so kind
to offer their services or just anything
they could do for me, and
that very much is just a blessing
then and now.”
Wills said they have also turned
to one another and the community
for help in finding personal
protective equipment, or PPE,
including N-95 masks, gowns and
face shields, which were either
hard to find or expensive.
“We worked together to make
sure people would be able to get
(PPE) and get back to work,” he
said. “As the New River Dental
Society, we bought masks for others
who weren’t able to get masks.”
For gowns, Wills said he ended
up reaching out to National Drapery
Workroom in Scarbro.
“I contacted them directly and
they were able to make us surgical
gowns, which has allowed
us to stay in practice,” Wills said,
adding that the business has been
able to assist other businesses as
well with PPE needs.
“All dental practices, especially
in southern West Virginia, are
working together to make sure
that dentistry is still available to
the patients of southern West Virginia,”
he said. “We’ve had to get
creative but it’s allowed us to look
at things differently and make
some changes to keep our patients
healthy.”
Wills said he believes some of
those changes are here to stay.
“In the ’80s, before I was a dentist,
the HIV and AIDS virus put
gloves and masks on dentists, and
I think that aerosol diseases like
COVID or SARS are going to be
what change the model where we
can’t go from room to room like
we used to,” he said.
Although there is still a great
deal of unknown in regard to the
coronavirus, dentists of southern
West Virginia are confident they
will be able to face whatever challenges
come their way, together.
AUGUST 2020 • THRIVE • 25