cute, cute, cute

I couldn't resist sharing these cute pics. Our little patients make our days very entertaining!!

SOTC in Ardmore

The Hygiene students at Southern Oklahoma Technology Center hosted the Mobile Dental Van for the day on Saturday, November 21st. They did an outstanding job of preparing for the day and keeping things running smoothly.

This little guy was talking non-stop until I turned on the video...then it's was all shyness.

Meet Matt Guffey

The ODF is getting rave reviews about our newest staff member, Matthew Guffey. Matt graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in zoology and accounting and will complete a Master's in Public Health from OU in May 2010. Matt is a life-long resident of Oklahoma and an avid skier.

Matt is the Lead Dental Assistant on the Mobile Dental Van, providing chairside assistance to the dentists and keeping everything organized and running smoothly. Matt is interested in Dentistry as a career and has applications in at several dental schools. We wish him the best of luck!

It's not all roses out there

Notes from the road...from Andy Ekdahl, Mobile Dental Services Coordinator...in case you think this job is easy - or boring!!!

September 16 - Migrant Head Start in Ft. Cobb

So since it's a slow day, we have had to enjoy the more simple things in life. This was in the bathroom. I have never heard the word "toileting" or "sensory play".

"Today's lunch"

From Oct 7...

"So we seriously got to Atoka at 2:00 a.m....That makes yesterday a 15 hour day. Can I even log that many hours in a day? It's kind of a long story, but we had a bridge out on one road and another road was covered in water."

And from the day we cleaned out the storage unit where the mobile unit is stored. Andy and Matt drew the short straw and had to take the garbage to the dump...

"We had to wear hardhats and vests...I wonder who else has been wearing this hat."

What does Dr. Beasley, Pete's Place and great ideas have in common?

Here's an idea for a staff outing. Pick a part of the state you think would be fun to visit, recruit your staff by offering them dinner out after volunteering on the mobile dental van, and give us a call. That's exactly what Dr. Justin Beasley did last Friday. Pete's Place in Krebs was his ultimate destination and he brought along hygienist Patti Jones, assistant Kim Kennedy, and staff member Shirley Arnn. The Caring Hands Community Clinic in McAlester benefited from their good work. Thanks to all for their willingness to travel. I just hope they ordered the toasted ravioli.

In the News

The Mobile Dental Van recently visited Laverne, Beaver and Guymon in a steady roll westward! Kristi Love, RDH was her usual efficient self in organizing the tour. We got a mention in the local paper.

http://www.guymondailyherald.com/content/view/149574/27/

Speaking of Guymon, our frequent volunteers Drs. Kurt and Daryl Gibson made the news back in January. A dental dynasty is nearing an end. We'll miss Dr. Kurt! But we're looking forward to many more volunteer outings with Dr. Daryl.

http://www.guymondailyherald.com/content/view/122389/27/

Dr. Miranda Ruleford of Bixby is a frequent volunteer and will be joing Bright Smiles in Tulsa this coming October. Congratulations to Dr. Ruleford.

http://www.brightsmilesoftulsa.com/staff.html

Speaking of Bixby, we're thrilled to have Dr. Lindsay Smith as our new Access to Care Committee Chair. He's off to a great start. Dr. Smith orchestrated our visit to the Bixby Community Center a year ago.

http://odfsoundbites.blogspot.com/2008/06/bixby-ok.html

And last, we were thrilled to be part of the Back to School Medical Mission at New Heights Church in Owasso. This was our third year and these folks are always very organized.

Andy tied the knot...

ODF Staff member Andy Ekdahl got married recently! Here's a link to a fun video trailer from their beautiful outdoor wedding. The very talented Jonathan Meisner produced their video. You might recognize his name from our volunteer recruiting video.

http://www.jonathanmeisner.com/?p=186

Way to go Andy!

Recognition

I've been hanging out with Barry a lot lately.

OK, not really. But Kristin and I did get to have a photo op with Mr. Barry Switzer when the ODF won the Partnership Award from Schools For Healthy Lifestyles. We value our partnership with SHL and were thrilled to be part of their awards night.

Dr. "Buddy" Benson received the Adopt-A-Dentist award. Very deserving!

Finished Product

This new wrap is fantastic and better represents our target maket. Great job to all!

San Fran!

I (Kristin) recently had the opportunity to attend the Advanced Volunteer Management Institute in beautiful San Francisco! It was great to meet other volunteer managers from around the world, as well as learn ways I can better serve our wonderful Mobile Dental Van volunteers! Below are a few pictures from the trip:

This is me with Tony Goodrow, President of Volunteer2. Tony is somewhat of a celebrity here at the ODF! We began using his volunteer management software this spring, and have had a great response from our volunteers! If you haven’t created your volunteer profile yet, please go to http://www.okdf.org/ and click on "Volunteer." You’ll be glad you did!

Riding a cable car! All smiles....

...until I realized how steep the incline was on the way DOWN.

(Is it just me, or do I look like a cartoon character???) Very fun!

And finally, as a child of the 80's, this was one of the highlights of the sight-seeing portion of the trip….visiting the "Painted Ladies," the homes seen in the intro to “Full House”! (My enthusiasm apparently scared away the guy in the corner of the picture...oh well.) Be jealous. Be VERY jealous:I had fun and learned ALOT! Please feel free to contact me with feedback on how we can better serve you. Hope to see YOU on the van soon!

~Kristin

Email: kvineyard@okdf.org; Phone: 405.241.1299.

It's a wrap!

The Winnebago is getting a new look this week. The old wrap is coming off and a new, more colorful wrap is going on. It's very child-friendly and colorful. We're excited!!

Another satisfied customer

This little cutie was treated on the Mobile Dental Van in a rural town in Oklahom over the weekend. Her daddy spent the past year in Iraq and was glad to be back doing what once seemed like mundane tasks such as taking his children to the dentist. Thanks to Dr. Brian Coerver, hygienist D'Nay Rowsey, and dental assistant Alicia Wilson, 17 children received dental care in an underserved rural part of our state.