Harcum College- Volunteer A Smile

Harcum was well represented at the MOM-n-PA (Mission of Mercy in PA) free dental care event on Friday and Saturday, September 12 & 13 in Allentown, PA. Twenty-four volunteers from Harcum that included Dental Assisting, Hygiene, and EFDA students, faculty, and alumni joined countless other dental professionals from across the region. During the two day event the volunteers treated over 2,000 patients free of charge. Dental care ranged from root canals to fillings and everything in between. The total cost of the donated services exceeded one million dollars.

Current Harcum Dental Hygiene student Katrina Segar, had this to say about the event, “It was such a rewarding experience, being surrounded by a career we love and seeing so many in the dental world give back! The most rewarding was honestly as cliche as it sounds, the smiles and facial expressions of all the people that were helped. I personally did most of my volunteering with patient check out and surveying patients. It was so gratifying to see and hear the patients be so thrilled with the care they received. Even patients who needed a tooth extraction or had to wait for over six hours to be seen, they were as happy as ever. There was no complaining or self pity...people were pain free, they gained smiles, and confidence back!”

The faculty at Harcum received numerous notes of praise for the outstanding work and contribution from our students. One of the co-leaders of the event, Bonnie J. Brown, RDH, BS, sent faculty member Karen Naylor this note: “The enthusiasm and dedication of your students and their willingness to do anything we needed contributed to the success of our hygiene team. Please accept our sincerest thanks for sending your students to us.”

Theresa Groody, Director of Professional Studies and EFDA faculty, volunteered at the event and commented, “There are more than 2,000 patients feeling grateful today for this; they may never know we got more from the day than they did. Critics of this type of event say it’s but a band aid and not even scratching the surface. It’s hard to not make it personal and feel you aren’t making a difference when you are genuinely thanked (and sometimes even hugged) by every patient you treat!”

Numerous Harcum EFDA graduates attended the day: Cindy Duran, Reenie Reese (EFDA Alum and Instructor), Laura Thompson, Tiffany Gifford, Artem Bayadyan, Valerie Malcolm (EFDA Alum and Instructor).

Watch a short clip from WFMZ-TV>>

To learn more about the MOM-n-PA Dental Mission and to find out how you can volunteer, visit their website atwww.mom-n-pa.com. The next mission is scheduled for May 29 and 30, 2015 in Harrisburg. No dental experience is required for numerous positions such as translation, registration, documentation, escorting patients to specified areas, etc. Training, orientation, parking, and meals are provided.