Our Growing Dental Ministry
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Dental team (left to right) Dr. Mark Johnson, Heather Johnson, Dr. Roger Nofsinger,
Sarah Folan, Stacie Sissom, Nestor de Armas, Dr. Wilbur Davis
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As always, June was a busy month for Mission Emanuel! We hosted 10 teams and over 185 American volunteers who partnered with our summer staff and our local Dominican staff and worked diligently on a number of projects across the community. God was at work in many ways and we are so thankful for all that He has provided in the last month!
We were particularly excited to host a team of three dentists, two dental assistants, and one dental hygienist who joined us from June 12-16. The team was lead by Dr. Mark Johnson and his wife Heather, who have served with Mission Emanuel providing desperately needed dental care in our community for over ten years. A team from SHARES International joined Dr. Johnson and Heather: Dr. Wilbur Davis, an oral surgeon, Dr. Roger Nofsinger, a general dentist, Stacie Sissom, a dental surgical assistant, and Sarah Folan, a dental hygienist.
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| Dr. Nofsinger and Sarah Folan restore a beautiful smile on a pediatric patient. |
The team worked incredibly hard in the Cielo dental clinic for three solid days and saw over 85 patients in that time, both children and adults who had been selected in advance based upon need. Dorca de la Cruz, our Dental Clinic Coordinator, and Heidy Caceres, the clinic’s Dental Assistant, worked in advance to prescreen patients’ needs and medical histories and schedule appointments. During the clinic, these women managed patient intake and overall flow and coordination of the clinic. Their leadership was remarkable and was a key component to three successful and busy days of clinic!
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| Dr. Davis treats a patient with support from Dr. Johnson and Heidy Caceres |
The majority of patients that were seen needed extensive dental work that required particular skill, patience, and dedication from the clinical team. We are so appreciative of each of the team members and all of their incredibly hard work in Cielo.
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| Dr. Johnson and Dr. Raquel Vasquez provide care for a patient while Dr. Davis consults. |
SHARES International is an independent division of the Florida Hospital Foundation whose mission is to bring hope and healing to children in need in select countries by partnering with local organizations to provide quality health care, health education, and training of local health workers. While the dental team was hard at work in the clinic, Mission Emanuel leadership spent several days in meetings with Nestor de Armas, Chairman of the Board of Directors for SHARES International. God was at work in these conversations all week long and we are so excited about the path that He has set before us.
After over a year of work, we are excited to announce that SHARES International and Mission Emanuel are partnering with a goal of expanding the care offered in our dental clinic. With SHARES help and the leadership of our Dominican dental clinic staff, our long-term goal is to grow our clinic’s capacity operational capacity to five days per week. We seek to positively impact the culture around dental hygiene and care in the community and believe that dental health is a critical part of the overall health and well being of children and adults in Cielo and Nazaret.
We are particularly grateful to SHARES International and the team who joined us in June for the compassion that they have already shared with the patients in our clinic and for their commitment to our community. We are also especially thankful for Dr. Mark and Heather Johnson and their longstanding involvement with dental care at Mission Emanuel, their leadership in the creation of this new partnership, and their love of Cielo and Nazaret.
Please join us in prayer for our dental ministry as it grows and expands over the next few months. Thank you for your support and partnership!
