FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
What? VDA Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic for Uninsured and Underinsured
When? Saturday March 8 (7am-5pm), “Milk Toast” and Tour at 10 am with Mayor Linda Johnson and Health Officials
Where? Kings Fork Middle School, 350 Kings Fork Rd in Suffolk
More than 60 members of the Virginia Dental Association (VDA) along with their practice teams and dental students from Virginia Commonwealth University will provide free care to as many as 500 residents of Western Tidewater communities from 7am-5pm on Saturday March 8 at Kings Fork Middle School in Suffolk.
It’s called MOM, or Mission of Mercy, a project of the Virginia Dental Association Foundation. The Suffolk event, first ever in that city, will actually serve as the kick-off for the 15th anniversary of MOM, which began in rural Wise County in 2000 and to date has served more than 50,000 patients statewide.
On March 8 in the gymnasium at Kings Fork Middle, dentists will perform cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals and other procedures. Some patients will receive Larell Dentures. Typically adults and children who cannot afford regular dental care and have pain or other oral health issues arrive early in the morning. Treatments begin at 7 am and continue until 5pm.
VDA President Dr. Ted Sherwin and other members of the VDA and VDAF leadership will join Mayor Linda Johnson, other local elected officials and health professionals in the Suffolk area at 10 a.m. for a “milk toast” to celebrate the beginning of the 15th year of MOM projects. They will then tour patient treatment areas.
“I am very happy that so many dentists from Hampton Roads and other parts of Virginia will be coming to Suffolk on March 8 to help our less fortunate residents,” says Dr. Ralph Howell, a longtime VDA leader who is spearheading the Suffolk MOM event. “I know we will change a lot of lives that day.”
The VDAF organizes the MOM clinics and recruits sponsors, which for Suffolk include the Obici Health Care Foundation, the Western Tidewater Health District and the Suffolk Rotary Club. “This year we will have seven MOM events across the Commonwealth, from Suffolk to Grundy and each one will make a big difference in those communities,” says Patrick Finnerty, Chairman of the Board of the VDAF. For the VDA, it is a responsibility of organized dentistry. “We give thousands of hours of our time each year to these projects,” says Dr. Sherwin, an Orange, VA dentist. “It is what we should do and what we love to do.”
For more information, contact Rachael Keshishian, Rubin Communications Group, 757-456-5212 or cell, 757-818-4625.
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