Outreach to
First Responders
At the
LSUHSC School of
Dentistry, the weekend of
August 7-9 was designated
for commemoration of the
tenth anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina. It
began on Friday, when 80
students participated in a
Thank-A-Thon, writing
letters to contributors to
thank them for their
generous financial support
of the school.
On Sunday
morning, students honored
police officers and
firefighters for their
tireless work and service
during and since the
storm. The students showed
their gratitude to the
first responders by
cooking jambalaya and
delivering over 250 plate
lunches, boxes of dental
supplies, ice chests, and
thank-you signs to twelve
police and fire stations
in New Orleans. LSUHSC
police officers were also
honored for their service.
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(l)-r
Kaleigh
Redhead, Kramer
Sherman, an
Dominic Calato
display
students;
posters |
Organized by
Student Government
Association officers and
the service chairs and
presidents of each dental
and dental hygiene class,
the Sunday morning event
was funded by the dental
school student body. Over
200 students and faculty
members turned out to
prepare and deliver the
care packages to the
police and fire stations.
Promoted as the Katrina
Memorial Service TGIF, the
event featured breakfast,
music, and games for the
students as they waited
for the jambalaya to be
cooked, drew thank-you
posters, and organized the
care packages. An
amazingly efficient
serving line of 200 people
helped serve and fill the
box lunches. Television
coverage of the event
appeared on WWL and WGNO.
Jonathan Doucet,
vice-president of the
Student Government
Association and project
coordinator, explained,
"We're not here just to
learn how to be dentists.
We're here to live a life
of service. That's the
call we've taken, and
that's what we're here
doing."
The dental school project
was part of an LSUHSC-wide
initiative, which included
participation by other
schools in community
projects such as feeding
the homeless, building
homes, cleaning up City
Park, and working at the
local food bank.
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First-year
dental student
John Daigle
fills a lunch
box for a first
responder
|
|
Students
pack care packages
to delivery to
police and fire
stations |
Second
Line to Health
On August 29, a team
from LSUSD participated in
"Second Line to Health",
sponsored by the Second
Harvest Food Bank to
commemorate the tenth
anniversary of Hurricane
Katrina. The day-long
health and wellness fair,
held at the Sanchez
Community Center in the
Lower Ninth Ward, offered
services from over 50
organizations.
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(l-r)
Lindsey Richard, Dr.
Fancher, Dr. Lee,
Ms. Hew, bus driver
Robert Chambliss,
Dr. Townsend |
Janice Townsend, DDS, MS,
associate professor and
chair of pediatric
dentistry; Jenni Hew, RDH,
MSHCM, associate professor
and program coordinator
for the General Practice
Residency; Drs. Beth
Fancher and Janelle Lee,
pediatric dentistry
residents; and Lindsey
Richard, fourth-year
dental student, performed
dental and oral cancer
screenings for over 100
attendees. The team also
referred patients to the
dental school clinic when
further dental care was
determined to be
necessary.
|
Dr.
Townsend and Ms. Hew
pose with New
Orleans
Councilmember James
Gray |
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