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June 17, 2002 - Image 8

Resource type:
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Publication:
Michigan Daily Summer Weekly, 2002-06-17

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8 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 17, 2002
Dental students help migrant workers seti 2r

By Jemnier Mistha
Daily Staff Reporter
Giving dental check-ups to children in a classroom
with Disney movies playing in the background before
engaging in a game of soccer with his patients was a
rewarding summer experience for dental school alum
Ryan Van Haren.
Van Haren spent part of last summer working at the
Dental School's summer migrant dental program, pro-
viding oral health care to migrant workers and their
children. The program will run again from June 24
through Aug. 2.
Dental Prof. Robert Bagramian, director of the sum-
mer clinic program, said Dental students have worked
with migrant workers in various locations around
Michigan in an effort to improve their oral health for
the last 29 years.
"Eight students are on site for two weeks," Bagrami-
an said. "Basically there is one faculty member to four
dental students."
He added this ratio allows students to be the princi-
ple care-giver with supervision from a practicing den-
tist. During their rotation, the dental students work at
three different elementary schools, seeing children dur-
ing the day and their parents after work.
The program has come a long way since it was first
started in Ann Arbor in the early 1970s, Bagramian

said, but the services have maintained popularity
among migrant workers, and the program has remained
unique among many states.
The program grew even more when phone calls
from migrant workers prompted dental students to
travel daily to places around Ann Arbor and eventual-
ly moved all over Michigan to the point where "peo-
ple in Traverse City contacted me and asked if we
would come up there," Bagramian said.
Arrangements for student housing, vehicles
and portable equipment enabled the summer pro-
gram to move to the northwest section of the
state where there is a greater migrant worker
population.
The idea of working with an underrepresented popu-
lation appealed to Dental student Julie Ann Fattore in
her first year, when she leamed about the program
from Bagramian and upperclassmen. Fattore applied to
the program because she feels the ability to help others
is a huge responsibility.
"In Traverse City, the migrant farm workers are
thought of as the invisible population as they intermin-
gle with the vacationing tourists," Fattore said. "This is
an opportunity to help treat and educate these children
and families."
Van Haren said the children enjoy their experience at
the clinic. He added that in the few hours of interaction
each day, dental students have the opportunity to "sit

"There ends up being a
great level of comfort."
- Ryan Van Haren
Dental alum
down with kids" and "hang out."
"There ends up being a great level of comfort,"
Van Haren said. "The level of care given to kids is
equivalent to what they'd get in private practice."
But, there are some problems with the program.
Follow-up care is difficult to provide, and Van
Haren said no specialists are on-site and he avoids
giving referrals.
"Referring out doesn't do much good," Van Haren
said. "(The migrant workers) can't afford the desired
specialized treatment."
Despite language barriers, Fattore said she
expects her time in Traverse City to be a memo-
rable learning experience. "As students we will
learn to work quickly and work with what we have
in less than ideal conditions," she said. "I will
learn to speak some Spanish, but I am not con-
cerned about communication. I know that the best
communication starts with a nice warm smile and
that's what dentistry is all about."

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Continued from Page 1
the event for 17 years and manager for
the last four said, as a "townie" Top of
the Park is a great place to run into old
friends. "Tonight I ran into a guy I went
to middle school with," he said. "(Top of
the Park) is really something that's still
here for the town."
Top of the Park provides an alterna-
tive to the usual summer evening enter-
tainment and is cheaper than going to
the movies or a baseball game, he added.
Particular appeal, be smid, is in the fart
thaspeople can "drop by" for a movie, to
hear the live music playing or just go for
a stroll without having to pay for a thing
because evenings are sponsored by vari-
ous area organizations and businesses.
For college students the event gives
them a taste of what Ann Arbor is all
about, Guttman said. "It gives them a
real local feel to the town they're going
to be a resident of for four years ... and
a chance to see that there's a town here
as well;" he said.
Washtenaw Community College
freshman and Ann Arbor native Naomi
Fauman remembers watching "Singing
In the Rain" at Top of the Park when she
was six years old. Now, Fauanan works
at the event, a job she said she cannot
believe she gets paid to do. "Every-
body's so nice and friendly because of
the Ann Arbor atmosphere, and it's laid
back.You can have fun," she said.
She said she likes that the event is free
and open to everyone and said itis one
of the activities everyone should take
advantage of while in Ann Arbor.
"The music is good and the atmos-
phere is great. It's a good place to
hang out during the summer," Fau-
man said. "You really can't get things
like Top of the Park ... from other
cities. That's one of the great things
about Ann Arbor."
But the majority of the people attend-
ing Top of the Park so far this year, like
Ann Arbor residents Adam and Jennifer
Cohen, have not been college studenfs.
The Cohens bring their two children
to Top of the Park at least twice a sum-
mer. "It's Ann Arbor summer fun -
Why not come to Top of the Park," Jen-
nifer said.
She added that she enjoys the way the
event brings the community together. "I
always see people here that I don't run
into other places," she said. After attend-
ing Top of the Park for eight years, she
said she still "wouldn't change a thing."
"It's a great, safe environment for
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