“Dr. Claus” Visits Neighborhood Health Center
On a December Saturday, patients at Neighborhood Health Center’s (NHC) Oregon City clinic received a visit from “Dr. Claus” with his bag full of toys. As part of their End of Year sealant metric strategy, NHC scheduled an additional 8-hour Saturday clinic specifically for children aged 6-14. NHC self-funded the event, which incentivized patients to complete their appointment by providing a photo with Santa and a Lego toy from his goody bag.
Fun was had by all. The patients, especially the younger ones, seemed to really enjoy it. This included one boy, who said, “I know you’re not the real Santa, just one of his helpers.” There were lots of smiles and zero tears! As the expanded function dental assistants placed sealants, Dr. Jonathan Hall, NHC dental director, did the exams and sealant checks. “Dr. Claus” would come in afterwards to pose for the take home polaroid picture and to hand out the Legos.
Lessons learned for future events include having more lead time to plan. Dr. Hall says this day was put together pretty last minute. The next time they’d like more time for outreach and promotion of the event. Even though they weren’t able to fill their schedule, they were still able to see several kids and seal some teeth. Also, don’t skimp on the Santa costume; he says you get what you pay for! The mask Dr. Claus wore wasn’t just for PPE (personal protective equipment), but more to hide the terrible beard that came with the costume. NHC is currently planning other themed sealant events for 2018.
