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IMOM 2010 in
Cedar Rapids
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IMOM 2009
See a report of the event in
the November Lavender Band
IMOM – Waterloo
2008
By Laurie Abbas,
RDH
I want to tell you about absolutely fantastic
weekend that was shared by dental professionals, and volunteers from
all walks of life. It is pretty amazing to think you can take over a
building such as the Five Sullivan Brothers Center in Waterloo, IA,
and turn it into a field dental clinic in the space of a day. That
was exactly what happened Oct. 3, 2008.
I arrived about 9:00 and already there were
vans unloading supplies, and semi’s unloading dental equipment, and
an amazing group of kids from AmeriCorps putting together equipment.
We had dental personnel volunteers and regular volunteers setting up
tables, a skid loader moving supplies, service techs setting up the
behind the scenes electrical necessities, water lines, etc. that
would allow us to treat patients the next day. We also had an
amazing group of IMOM volunteers from across the country that came
in to help us put together our first IMOM event. There were
volunteers organizing patient entrances and registration, areas
where the patients health would be reviewed to make sure they were
healthy enough to receive treatment, and the exit areas where
post-op instructions would be given and information for follow-up
treatment and possible resources for the patients. By the end of the
day we were set up and ready to see patients the next
day.
Bright and early we were back and ready to
start the day on Friday, but the patients had started much earlier
than we did, and were waiting lined up around the block in very
chilly temperatures to be let into the building. Our goal was to
provide dental treatment to those who could not afford dental
services; we wanted to be able to treat their most urgent need. It was a day of patience and
waiting on the part of the patients. By Friday night we were so
excited by the numbers of people we were able to help! Treatment ran
from extractions, restorations, RCT, gross debridements, prophies,
flippers, and even a denture was made. The kids had a special
section to have their work done. Limited x-rays were available
because of the generosity of equipment loaned to us. By that evening
we were ready for a little down time, and the volunteers were served
a great meal and had the chance to chat with old and new friends,
and if their feet were willing, even dance to the music a band
played for us.
On Saturday, October
5th, the patients again were waiting in the dark for us,
and we started round two of seeing patients. Our final statistics
were fantastic. We had over 900 volunteers that saw 1254 people over
those two days. We provided $602,540 in care for people.
This was a weekend that was a year in
planning. It really went together well, with the support of the City
of Waterloo, the Five Sullivan Brothers Center management and staff,
and countless volunteers from the area and across the state. That
being said, we are working on our next IMOM event. It will be held
Friday and Saturday, September 25-26, 2009 at the Iowa Speedway in
Newton, Iowa.
Registrations will be starting in the second quarter of the
year on the IMOM website (www.iowamom.org).
We have a link to some of the candid pictures that were taken
by a few hygienists on our website, as well as more information and
pictures available on the IMOM website.
The
final measurement of success was not in the dollar amount of
services we provided for those patients, it was expression of
gratitude of the people who were no longer in pain, those that had
restorative needs met, that would allow them to go to job interviews
and have a great smile to present to prospective employers, parents
who were able to make sure their kids were able to receive dental
treatment, things that we take for granted. The weekend could not have
come to together without every single volunteer. We were so thankful
to everyone who shared their time. Come and join us in September for
our next adventure | 
