Carol Patel and Casey Mauder, both DMD 16, perform an oral screening on a veteran
Massachusetts Stand Down is a community program designed to help homeless veterans, and is hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Held on August 22, 2014, the annual daylong event gives homeless and at-risk veterans a chance to receive food, shelter, clothing, health services, and more. This year, the event was held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 103 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Volunteers from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) were eager to offer assistance to veterans in need. Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri organized a full day of service consisting of two volunteer shifts—a morning and an afternoon—to be available and help the more than 500 veterans in attendance. In addition to Lituri, 29 volunteers donated their time throughout the day.
For the GSDM volunteers, the day consisted of promoting oral health by providing screenings, denture cleaning, and labeling. Packets with information, brochures, and visuals were available to any veteran who needed more information. Attendance was high and the veterans were extremely grateful for the efforts of GSDM’s volunteers. According to Lituri, they screened about 75 people and interacted with many more.
Lituri told the volunteers afterwards: “Each of you played a significant role in not only promoting oral health and providing screenings, but I really want to call attention to your fabulous listening skills and ability to make the patients feel comfortable and well cared for.”
“The success of the School’s outreach programs relies on individuals like you who volunteer their time and expertise,” she continued. “It was a pleasure to work with each and every one of you.”
GSDM volunteers at Stand Down were: Ahmad Al Najjar DMD 16, Nicholas Capezio DMD 18, Jasmine Chopra AS 15, Shelby Curtis DMD 16, Matthew Garcia DMD 15, Siavash Golaby Sanajany DMD 15, Johnny Gonzalez DMD 15, Delaney Jorgensen DMD 18, Sloane Kaminski-Ditzel DMD 18, Israel Korobkin DMD 16, Andrea Lam DMD 16, Grace Lee DMD 15, Charles Lewis DMD 18, Sasha Manchanda DMD 18, Vrushali Mirajkar AS 16, Carol Patel DMD 16, Shivani Patel DMD 16, Sooyeon Shim DMD 15, Casey Smauder DMD 16, Lyle Smith DMD 15, Zachary Snider DMD 18, Megan Sullivan DMD 18, Guarev Swarup AS 15, Kevin Treger DMD 16, and Idin Zhalehdoust DMD 16. In addition, Lituri was joined by faculty volunteers Clinical Instructor Dr. Gladys Carrasco, Director of Global Initiatives Kathy Held, Clinical Assistant Professor and Practice Leader Dr. Michael McQueen, and Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Director of the Center for Clinical Research Dr. Judith Jones.