Dayton, Nevada – Wendy Madson of Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties (HCC) has been invited to join the board of Oral Health Nevada. The mission of Oral Health Nevada is to “improve the oral health of all Nevadans – especially those who are the most vulnerable, by expanding access to affordable preventive and restorative services, promoting oral health education, and expanding communication and support through diverse partnerships.”
Oral Health Nevada asked Wendy to join their board because through her work with HCC, she has been tireless in her efforts to bring a focus to the needs for increased access to affordable dental care, good nutrition, and gardening education in rural Nevada. Wendy is also part of the Northern Nevada Dental Coalition for Underserved Populations (CUSP), the regional oral health coalition representing northern Nevada.
Dental Days for Students: Wendy organizes “Dental Days” through HCC’s Health and Wellness Hub, connecting rural students each year to dental exams, fluoride varnishes, sealants and fillings provided by hardworking dentists, hygienists, and community health nurses. For example, this school year year in Silver Springs, 108 students received dental exams by a pediatric dentist (DDS), and fissure sealants to prevent tooth decay were applied to 308 teeth, while over 2,000 thousand teeth were varnished with fluoride (topical fluoride therapy).
Free Pop-Up Clinics for All Ages: In addition, Wendy has been a key recruiter for volunteer dentists who have provided thousands of FREE extractions, cleanings, fillings, etc for all ages over the last few years through the Remote Area Medical (RAM) events in Nevada and through Medical Outreach Response Events (MORE) serving the rural Lyon/Mineral/Churchill regions.
School Gardens, Salad Bars, and Job Training: Wendy’s busy work world extends well beyond connecting under-served populations with much needed dental services. “Wendy’s love of people and nature shows in her work with HCC in schools, community projects and youth programs,” says HCC director Christy McGill.
Wendy has assisted in designing and developing 8 organic school gardens and hoop houses in Lyon County since 2010. She also provides a warm and welcoming vocational rehabilitation job training site through Community Roots nonprofit garden center, organizes HCC’s community supported agriculture basket program (Community Harvest) and farmers markets, and performs the behind-the-scenes strategic work necessary to make salad bars with fresh local produce available in schools.
More information about Oral Health Nevada can be found at this link: http://oralhealthnevada.com/
More information about the Northern Nevada Dental Coalition for Underserved Populations can be found here:
http://www.astdd.org/state-activities-descriptive-summaries/?id=161
