Assistance League honors dentist center staffers
Assistance League of Redlands’ Dental Committee recently celebrated the Assistance League Dental Center’s achievements since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and honored the center’s staff members.
After the initial coronavirus shutdowns in March 2020, the Assistance League of Redlands’ Dental Center has been open since June8, 2020, with no closures because of COVID-19, according to a news release.
None of the Dental Center staff members contracted COVID-19, patient count continues to rise and the center has extended procedures as more people are vaccinated. It is also easier for the center to get personal protective equipment now than it was a year ago.
Those are all reasons to celebrate, but the primary reason for the Assistance League’s May 20 Heroes Award Luncheon, staged in the league’s Camellia Room, was to honor the center’s staff members.
Receiving Heroes Award certificates, flowers and balloons were dentist Dr. Stephanie Calvillo, dental assistant Lizbeth Gonzalez, dental hygienist Diana Zamora, office manager Elizabeth Duran and volunteer Lorraine Ehrler.
Along with Dental Committee members, the staff took part in following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, American Dental Association and state and county agencies to develop protocols for getting sanitation supplies, personal protective equipment and air filtration systems to help keep patients and staff safe.
The Assistance League of Redlands has operated a low-cost Dental Center since 1950. Originally, only children were treated by volunteer dentists two days per week at a local hospital. In 1965, the current Assistance League Chapter Building, Thrift Shop and Dental Center were opened on Colton Avenue, and in 2001 the program was expanded to also treat adults.
By 2008, the number of patients far exceeded the space available, so the Assistance League renovated its Operation School Bell Building, which was used only a few months of the year, to become a five-chair Dental Center, according to the news release.
In a collaboration with Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, student interns in dentistry and dental hygiene have had the opportunity to work on patients at the center, under supervision.
Four years ago, the Dental Center also added a monthly free clinic to serve homeless youth and adults.
The Assistance League Dental Center is available to underserved members of the community who, because of their income or circumstances, can’t afford regular dental fees and don’t have dental insurance or don’t qualify for DentiCal. The center provides full general procedures except for implants and braces.
The Dental Center is at 508 W. Colton Ave., Redlands. For appointments, call 909-792-9430.
The community can help support the Dental Center and the Assistance League’s other philanthropies through donations and patronage of the Assistance League Thrift Shop, at 506 W. Colton Ave., next door to the Dental Center.