We are Celebrating AND Asking for Your Help: Low Cost Dental Clinic Working for Your Community

MLA Michelle Mungall and Board Members Celebrate the receipt of $50,000 from Pacific Blue Cross

News Release: February 24, 2016

Subject:  West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic Society requesting partnerships with dentists, dental professionals and community members of the Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary Regional Districts.

West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic Society (TEETH) is a registered not for profit society, whose sole purpose is to increase access to dental care for all. The Society is currently operating a low cost clinic within a dental office in Nelson. This one office, currently serves all residents in Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary Regional Districts. Clients of TEETH receive dental care with a 40% discount. Many dedicated paid staff, volunteers, donation of clinic space and other discounts and donations has enabled the program to be viable and sustainable.

TEETH recently won 1^st prize, $50,000 from Pacific Blue Cross 75^th Anniversary “Share the Care Giveaway.” This prize enables the Board of TEETH to invite dentists, dental professionals and community members of the Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary Regional Districts to unite with the work of TEETH’s mission “To increase access to dental care for all citizens in the communities regardless of income level.”

The Board is seeking partnerships, for the purpose of increasing access to low-cost quality dental care.

We are seeking your ideas of how you can partner with TEETH in your community. Although we have envisioned similar clinics operating in the rest of the Kootenay Boundary region, we realize each community is unique. Because we understand what is effectual in one community, may not be in another, we are asking for your suggestions. 

Let us know what might work best in your area to increase access to low-cost quality dental care.

The Board of TEETH welcomes the opportunity to partner with you and hear all your suggestions. Let us know what is your community's ‘best-fit’ to provide low-cost quality dental care.

Thank you for helping us help you, and your community, to increase access to low-cost quality dental care that is closer to home.

 Please contact us at:  TEETHClinicWK@gmail.com or 250-352-6560 (TEETH info Hot Line).

The Board of The West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic Society:

Barry Nelson, Debby Zeeben, Eric Ramsden, Mara Sand, Pegasis McGauley, Christine Chore

If you have any ideas, or would like to volunteer or work with us, you can leave a comment or contact us as noted above.

Eric, Erin and Marion

Let's Celebrate: TEETH Clinic Society's BIG WIN for Our Community and You are Invited!

West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic Society

 Let’s Celebrate

                                 

Invitation to Staff, Volunteers, Supporters & their Families of WK Community TEETH Clinic 

When:  Saturday February 27^th

Location:  Bigby Place in Nelson -509 Front St.

Time:  6:30 pm

Please bring your favourite finger food.  The TEETH Clinic Society will provide beverages. 

We look forward to celebrating the progress of TEETH increasing access to dental care.

Because of everyone’s dedication and efforts, TEETH helps so many.

This celebration is for all of you!

Your RSVP by Thursday, Feb. 25^th would be greatly appreciated: 

TEETHClinicWK@gmail.com

or 250.352.6560 (TEETH Info. Hot Line)

                                  

                                  

West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic Wins BIG for Our Community!

Check out the Vancouver Sun Article:

Pacific Blue Cross "Share the Care" Winner

The Board:  Barry, Mara, Debby, Eric, Pegasis
Missing:  Christine

Needless to say, we (the board, the many volunteers, Dr. Osepchook and his dental staff) are very excited about this unique success and the opportunity that it provides to the West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic.

Now that we have been confirmed in receiving the $50,000 grant from Pacific Blue Cross a different kind of challenge – how to best utilize these funds to provide the best possible improvement to our low cost dental services to our West Kootenay Boundary community.

Can we provide an additional clinic to reduce travel and bring direct services to more members of our community?  Are we able to increase our denture program and other clinical services?  So much to think about – what a great problem to have.

Dr. Osepchook and his amazing staff

As well, we have to thank all of those that helped us to garner this success. The local media was a great assistance in the drive to get the word out.  The ability to link into social media to spread the word using Facebook and Twitter provided us a interesting opportunity to spread the word beyond our local borders.  We had people all across the country responding to our plea for assistance in helping our community.

We roll up our sleeves with our next board meeting that is set for Friday, February 5^th at 1:30 p.m. at the Resource Centre in the Community First Health Co-op Building at 518 Lake Street in Nelson.

We would love to have our communities’ involvement on where we go from here.

Thanks again to Pacific Blue Cross for its Share The Care project, part of the not-for-profit health insurer's plan to celebrate its 75th anniversary by giving away $75,000 to by selecting five existing recipients (of their annual funding), making short videos about their work and then asking people to vote online for their favourites.

Thanks you so very much for supporting your community,

Erin, Marion and Eric

November 30th Board Update: #voteforTEETH, Resource Centre, Home Care Outreach

TEETH is in FIRST PLACE

We are so excited that after 2 weeks of voting. TEETH is in first place in the Pacific Blue Cross completion to win $50.000. We want to thank everyone who is voting and sharing the video so that we can continue to provide low cost dental in the Kootenay and Boundary area.  The final day for voting is December 6, 2015.

 Have you visited the Resource Centre at Community First Health Co-op at 518 Lake Street?  We now have 20 health related organizations that provide information kiosks or hold their meeting there.

OverEaters Anonymous meets on Wednesdays at Noon and T.O.P.S meets on Monday at 5:30 pm.

The Alzheimer Society hosts regular sessions on a variety of dates and the Breast Cancer Survivor group also meets in our Resource Room.

The Resource Centre is staffed from Monday to Friday 1-4 with volunteers.   Lonnie Facchina is our Volunteer Coordinator and if you would like to volunteer please contact her

Lonnie.facchina@mssociety.ca  or 250-505-3997

We were pleased to announce that the Seniors Co-ordinating Society has been awarded a Columbia Basin Trust donation to be able to hire a person to co-ordinate the Home Care outreach. This will go a long way to ensuring that Home Care continues to be provided in our community.

And do not forget to save April 16, 2016 for our Passport to Wellness 2 Health Fair.  

Thanks for stopping by... and don't forget to Vote for TEETH.


Marion, Erin and Eric

VOTE for TEETH: Your Local Low Cost Dental Clinic Needs Your Help!

Dr. Osepchook and his dental staff

VOTE FOR YOUR LOCAL LOW COST DENTAL CLINIC

The West Kootenay Community TEETH Clinic opened in June of 2014 providing service to the West Kootenay/Boundary region.

The need for better dental health, for those with low incomes, has been a driving force for us to develop a way to bring access to dental care to our communities.  Through the success of the WK Community TEETH Clinic there is a way to access local care. In TEETH’s first year the clinic served 192 people with many having multiple appointments.

Hickman and Honsinger Families

As you likely well know dental health is essential for good health, nutrition, self-esteem, and job opportunities.

Through the dedicated work of the board of TEETH and the grantors to this organization, the clinic exists.

Today you have an opportunity to help the clinic. TEETH has been shortlisted for the Pacific Blue Cross 75th Anniversary contest, Share the Care, where the winner receives $50,000. When you vote for TEETH you will help us win the grand prize. We know, with your help, we can win this prize and open more clinics in our region and say YES to more people.

Vote for our video and share the vote with your friends:

http://www.pac.bluecross.ca/75thanniversary/video/West-Kootenay-Community-Teeth-Clinic-Society

  and help us say YES to helping more people access the dental care they need. 

The Board:  Barry, Mara, Debby, Eric and Pegasis

HEALTH ALERT: Cold and Flu Season. How to Take Care of Yourself

The Community First Health Co-operative, in Nelson, B.C., has asked its health practitioners to provide us some guidance on how to take care of ourselves during this year's cold and flu season.

Here is our first instalment provided by Shauna Robertson, R. TCM.P, Registered Acupuncturist and Herbalist of Nelson's Acupuncture and Natural Health Clinic.

Cold and flu season is upon us once again and it is important that we keep our bodies at optimum health in order to have the ability to ward off these viruses.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we view the cold and flu virus as an invasion of external pathogenic wind. This pathogenic wind is able to break through our bodies defenses (immune system) if our system becomes weakened.

Ways in which we can keep our immune systems strong are by eating nutritionally, getting enough sleep, exercising daily and avoiding stress. Dressing according to the weather is also very important. So in the fall this may mean layering clothes because it is colder in the morning and evening but may be very warm in the afternoons.

If however, you do succumb to the cold or flu TCM has a full arsenal of tools to help bring relief. Acupuncture and herbs are very effective at warding off the cold and flu viruses as well as treating the symptoms and allowing you make a speedy recovery.

For more information on Acupuncture and TCM and the cold/flu you can visit my website at http://www.anhc.ca/health-well-news/

There is some really excellent information on Shauna's website including  great healthful recipes, as well as information on Seasonal Affective Disorder and so much more.  Take a moment and check it out by connecting through this link.

Welcome to Nelson BC Acupuncture & Natural Health Clinic:

Acupuncture & Natural Health Clinic of Shauna Robertson, R.TCM.P, Registered Acupuncturist & Herbalist.

We Are Located at 101-518 Lake St. in Beautiful Nelson, BC.

Contact us at:  

1-250-352-2167

Holistic Healthcare, Sports Acupuncture, Allergies, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Autoimmune Disease, Back Pain, Cancer Care, Carpal Tunnel, Colds & Flu, Depression, Diabetes, Fertility, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, Hypertension, IBS, Insomnia, Menopause, Multiple Sclerosis, Neck Pain, Pain, PMS, Pregnancy, Smoking Cessation Acupuncture & Stress and much more.

Make sure you check in for updates on taking care of yourself during our annual cold and flu season.

Erin, Marion and Eric

Affordable Housing, Low Cost Dental and Added Support for the Alzheimer Society at the November Health Co-op Board Meeting

Wow, how did November arrive so quickly?  With -2 and scraping windows it seems that the long fall is heading early into winter. 

Community First Health Co-op held their monthly Board meeting with most of us present and here are some highlights.

The Lake Street Housing Committee met earlier this month  with Nelson Council member Michael Dailly to begin a discussion around housing options and needs within the region. We would like to thank him for his time and we had a great talk about some of the initiatives in Nelson and some of the unmet needs, such as housing for the working poor. We also had a chance to brainstorm some ideas around Land Trusts and lease-holds and will continue our work in that area.

TEETH our low cost Dental initiative is booming. We had over 300 visits in the past year and it continues to grow in services offered. It has been short listed for a financial award and we are just awaiting information on the voting procedure.  Once we know it check out our blog and website and facebook pages so you can learn how to vote so that we can win the award and the financial prize to enhance our work in this much needed area.

Thanks to Julia Leffelaar of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. for volunteering to not only provide workshops, but to also volunteer to be in the resource center for one Friday each month to provide support to our community.  Julie will be available, in the resource centre on theses dates:  Dec 11, January 8, Feb 12 and March 11. We are still looking for volunteers for 3 Friday afternoons a month.

We also want to welcome a new member to our partners in the building Elephant Mountain Counselling.  Here is the link:

http://elephantmountaincounselling.ca/

Take care and get out and enjoy the brisk fall air!!

Eric, Marion and Erin