CLC nursing and dental hygiene volunteers provide care in Tennessee

Forty two College of Lake County dental hygiene and nursing students, faculty and staff traveled to Knoxville, Tenn. Feb. 4 and 5 to volunteer at a free medical clinic organized by Remote Area Medical (www.ramusa.org).

The CLC group, which included 21 dental hygiene students, six dental hygiene faculty and staff, 12 nursing students and three nursing faculty, joined hundreds of other volunteers to treat more patients than any of the organization's previous 839 missions.

In just two days, the volunteers provided 1,254 patients with $625,223 worth of free medical care, which included pap smears, blood pressure screens, immunizations, eye exams, glasses, dental cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions and dentures. The CLC students performed dental cleanings, dental X-rays, blood pressure checks and immunizations.

"Our annual service trip was extraordinary in that RAM exceeded the total number of patients ever treated in a single expedition," said Mary Jacobs, dental hygiene professor. "It was rewarding to see how CLC's dental hygiene and nursing students came together to contribute to this record-breaking event."

This was the seventh trip that Jacobs led, and the second one that included nursing students. The students did several fundraising projects to pay for a portion of their travel expenses.

Melanie Amidei, a dental hygiene student from Gurnee, was grateful for the experience. "Treating people who don't have regular access to healthcare not only makes you realize your own privilege, it also helps you grow as a hygienist and a person. Every single person, either volunteering or receiving treatment, was so kind and grateful for the help and experience. It was a great way to start my dental hygiene career," she said.

It was nursing professor Amy Morton-Miller's second trip to Tennessee for the RAM service project. She said nursing students used their triage and assessment skills, gave flu shots, checked blood sugars, assisted dental hygienists and dentists in their work with patients and provided general support for the clinic's operation.

"Nursing students worked side by side with their dental hygiene colleagues in delivering important services to individuals who were in need of care. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to experience working with patients from different cultural backgrounds as well as working with a variety of healthcare workers from around the United States. Students could see first-hand how their efforts really made a difference in people's lives," she said.

The CLC Dental Hygiene program is based at the Lakeshore Campus, 111 N. Genesee Street, Waukegan, Ill. It features a state-of-the-art clinic that provides low-cost dental hygiene services for community members and CLC staff and students. To make an appointment or learn about the Associate in Applied Science in dental hygiene program, call (847) 543-2172 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/programs/dhy.