10 October 2023

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A Call to Care at Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh 2023

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This year, Mission of Mercy (MOM) Pittsburgh, will hold their free, 2-day event at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center on October 27 and 28. The volunteer-based dental clinic once again will offer free dental, vision and hearing services to patients in need from across southwestern Pennsylvania on a first-come, first-served basis. And this year, clinician volunteers will receive 3 pro bono CE credit hours toward license renewal.

Last year alone, nearly 1,500 patients received more than 7,000 procedures—with a value of over $1.5M—from about 1,100 volunteers. Some patients even travel into Pittsburgh from across the Commonwealth. It’s amazing that so many lives can be improved in just 2 days.

Every Volunteer is Important at MOM

Pitt Dental Medicine always is represented strongly among the volunteers at MOM. Our faculty, residents, alumni and fourth-year students are a leading force in the clinical spaces—an achievement we hope to see continue this year and for years to come. In 2022, more than 90% of our fourth-year class volunteered to provide clinical services under the watchful eye of Dr. Sarah Grafton. And about 190 pre-doctoral students signed up in total. Our non-clinical volunteers help to provide an important support network, without which, many of the treatments couldn’t take place.

“[Volunteering] should be something that sticks with our students for a lifetime … and it’s what the community really needs.” - Marnie Oakley, DMD, Interim Dean

There are many non-clinical volunteer opportunities, including check in, patient hospitality and ambassador, exit interviews and translators. There is a good fit for volunteers of any skill level to help those in need receive essential health care.

“… at the end of the day you go home you take your mask off. And when you’re looking in the mirror and smiling at yourself, the amount of confidence that gives is huge.” - Regina Munsch, DMD ’24

Please consider volunteering for this outstanding community event. The impact of your kindness in volunteering is immeasurable. Prior to registering as a volunteer, Pitt Dental Medicine faculty and staff should discuss time out of the office with their manager or chair to ensure continuous coverage in our clinics.

For more information, and to register as a volunteer, please visit MOMPGH.org/volunteer. Clinical volunteers should select the “Dental” option on this page, while non-clinical volunteers should select the “General” option.

More about Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh

Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh is the signature program of A Call to Care, Inc. All of the services are provided free of charge by local clinical and non-clinical volunteers. There are no eligibility or insurance requirements to be seen as a patient, many of whom have been experiencing dental pain for more than a year.

Source: https://www.dental.pitt.edu/