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