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For some people, a visit to a dental hygienist is a luxury they simply can't afford. Thanks to the compassion of a group called "Hands in Service", many of those people will get that visit anyway.
A re-purposed Class "A" RV was put on display today. It has been equipped to roll-out dental hygiene services in the neighbourhoods where it's needed most.
So how did it all come about? "Prayer, hard work, community support," gushed a grinning Patricia Goertzen from Hands in Service. "We feel really grateful. We were able to access a community gaming grant, a capital grant, and we had already been saving for a number of years out of our own budget and then the Okanagan foundation stepped-in with a $15,000 grant and the Royal Canadian Legion brought us a $40,000 donation."
The champion of the project, Patricia Goertzen spoke to us about the program and how it's going to work.
Starting in September, the mobile service will operate two days each week at different locations around the city, usually church parking lots. It comes with a wheelchair lift to make it fully accessible. The dental-office-on-wheels will be staffed by a pair of dental hygienists who have agreed to work at a reduced rate to make it possible.
Eventually, the service might also bring a dentist aboard. "There is a possibility because we do have space within the vehicle to add a third person," said Goertzen. "We'd love to have dentists that would come on and join us, once a month so we could provide that additional service, but at this point, we're going to start with the hygiene." Patients who clearly need to see a dentist will be referred to the service offered to Kelowna's Gospel Mission.
It's the only not-for-profit mobile dental hygiene clinic in all of BC. The first day out will be sometime in September.
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