Idea of the Month - October 2007
IMAGINE...DENTAL CARE FOR CHILDREN by Barbara Campbell
The Dental Bus
Vermillion South Dakota
Theta Omega of Vermillion, South Dakota, brought the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile to Vermillion for the first time. The Care Mobile is a truck/bus that houses two state-of-the-art dental offices providing dental screening, care and treatment for children 21 years or younger without dental coverage. Screening, care and treatment is provided free of charge. If the child qualifies for Medicaid, Medicaid is billed, but no child is turned away for inability to pay.
Ronald McDonald House Charities and The Delta Dental (South Dakota’s primary dental insurance provider) of South Dakota Foundation fund the Dental Bus. Dentists donate their time to staff the bus and fortunately for us, a local dentist donated a week of his time for us.
Before the bus arrives, publicity and information is circulated throughout the community. Application forms are handed out at schools, by community health nurses, at the public library, and through social services. The forms include health records, permission to treat, etc.
The Care Mobile arrived on September 10th. ESA members picked up and delivered the children to the bus for screening where the children had their teeth cleaned and sealants applied. If cavities needed filling, an appointment was made for follow-up dental care.
Our chapter...
- Made the original contact and request for the Care Mobile.
- Arranged with the public schools for their cooperation and for the bus’s location.
- Raised $2,000 to bring the Care Mobile to town; Our chapter donated $1,000 and received donations from the Vermillion Rotary Club, the Vermillion Lions Club, the Vermillion Veterinary Clinic, Lambda Lambda Chapter of ESA, and an anonymous donor.
- Along with members of the Rotary Club, our members volunteered to drive and chaperone the children.
- Generated publicity; distributed and collected the applications.
- Learned a lot!
We do not have the final statistics from the bus’s visit, but on the first day we helped 14 children and provided over $2,000 worth of services.
At our state convention a speaker introduced us to the Care Mobile. We were so impressed with the idea we jumped right on it. Pat Pravecek and her committee did a fabulous job, and we all learned a lot. We know that Nebraska has a Care Mobile and imagine that other states do too.
Our chapter will sponsor the Dental Bus again; however, the bus is reserved until 2010. If a new bus enters service, we should be able to get them back sooner.