LOCK HAVEN - The Clinton County Dental Clinic received not one but two awards Friday, as its creator and one of its guiding lights accepted honors from the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health.
Rural Health Director Lisa Davis presented the awards of "Rural Health Program of the Year" and "Community Rural Health Leader of the Year" to stalwart volunteer Joanne Hoberman and Penn State Extension employee Laurie Welch, respectively, recognizing their work in creating a new community service in an adverse economic climate.
The awards were handed down at this month's meeting of the Clinton County Collaborative Board, an umbrella agency of organizations devoted to finding ways to improve the community.
"Laurie worked tirelessly to fill a major health need for her home community of Lock Haven by starting a dental clinic for those who could not afford care," Davis said. "She secured funding in a very difficult budget year, found a location and equipment and staff, and after the clinic was up and a large part of the funding didn't appear, she searched for other money to keep the dream alive."
As for Hoberman, who accepted the Program of The Year award, she spends so much time at the clinic helping out, many youngsters have taken to calling her the "Tooth Fairy."
The Clinton County Community Dental Clinic, which opened on Oct. 6, 2009, has seen over 1,200 patients, many of them in emergency circumstances, who were in extreme pain and had nowhere else to go except the emergency room.
The facility is open an average of five days a week. It accepts medical assistance for dental work, as well as using a sliding scale fee based on family size and income for those who do not have dental insurance.
The clinic is a full-service dental office that offers exams, cleanings, extractions and fillings.
Davis said the facility continues to be "booked solid" and uses a blend of paid professionals and volunteers to operate.
The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health was established at Penn State in 1991 as a joint effort of the Colleges of Health and Human Development and Penn State Outreach and Penn State Cooperative Extension. The office is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Penn State University.
Davis sits on a number of national and statewide committees including standing and ad hoc committees of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health and advisory committees for the National Rural Health Association.
"The long lines that wait for the clinic are a tribute to Laurie and the talented staff," Davis said. "She identified a need, formed a plan, modeled a program, sought professional assistance from a local dentist, wrote grants for public and private funding, spoke to local clubs and agencies for financial support, oversaw renovations, and coordinated with others for supplies, equipment and office furnishings.
"All these activities went above and beyond her normal job duties," Davis said.
