NSU CDM Lasting Impressions Fall 2018

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 11 T hey say it takes a village to raise a child. For a four-year-old with severe dental problems, it took a no-cost dental clinic in Palm Beach County, NSU’s College of Dental Medicine pediatric dentists and pediatric dental residents, a Broward County children’s hospital, and a Boca Raton couple’s generosity to make young Albert’s life pain-free. Albert was suffering. His mother, Maria, would rub his teeth and gums with a topical anesthetic just so he could eat. “ No sabia qué hacer (I didn’t know what to do),” said Maria, who, through a translator, added that her son’s teeth were totally decayed. Then, one day, she was talking about her son to a neighbor. The woman mentioned no-cost dental services at Caridad Center, the free health care clinic established in 1989 in west Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County. Social worker and health educator Caridad Asensio and teacher Connie Berry were working at Hagen Ranch Elementary School in west Boynton Beach when they realized that many children from farmworker families lacked medical and dental care, and that the families needed food and cloth- ing. To address these needs, they founded the Migrant Association of South Florida. Then, in 1992, they began a free clinic in a double-wide trailer on State Road 441 in Boynton Beach with local doctors and dentists volunteering services. On opening day at 7:00 a.m., nearly 400 people lined up to receive services. In 1997, through donations, the center was able to build a CDM Partners with Caridad Center BY MICHELLE F. SOLOMON