Health Disparity Event

BY JIM LANDELIUS & CAROLINE FISHER

RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITIES OF SEMINOLE AND WEWOKA, OKLAHOMA, WERE INVITED TO A FREE DENTAL AND VISION CLINIC AT WEWOKA WOODS ADVENTIST CENTER IN WEWOKA ON APRIL 2, 2003.

The clinic was sponsored by American Indian & Alaska Native Living magazine (AIANL) and overseen by the Life & Health network of free clinics (learn.lifeandhealth. org) under the direction of Danny Kwon. Chief Lewis Johnson of the Seminole Nation promoted the much-needed clinical services on the Seminole Nation website (sno-nsn.gov/), and in less than 24 hours, all of the appointments for both the optical and dental services were totally full with a waiting list for both. Five dentists and four opticians gave eye exams and disbursed eyeglasses; cleaned and extracted teeth; and replaced cavities with fillings. Patients felt comfortable as they were evaluated and served by a team of professionals with some receiving multiple services from doctors in both fields, such as eyeglasses and dental services. The AIANL and Life & Health collaboration will continue by reaching out to residents in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area with the same services from September 22-24, 2023.

Medical screening before seeing the dentist.