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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2024)
Page 2 Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs July 24, 2024 Students explore dental careers hands-on Young people draped in yellow scrubs, face masks, and bright blue gloves bent over a table, a pair of hemostats wedged between their fingers, quietly and intently thread- ing the thick and pliable skin of banana, stitch after stitch. That was one of the dozens of scenes captured during Dental Week earlier this month, when 16 current high school students and recent graduates from across Or- egon were at the School of Den- tistry exploring what a career in oral health care would be like. Students from Warm Springs who partici- pated were Keith Charley III, Lily Moses and Yamilei Adams. A highlight for the students was suturing the skin of the banana. “We sutured in the shape of Ws,” said Logan Ajifu-Santos, a Parkrose High School student. The 10 young women and six men also experimented with wax- ing a dental model, assisted by fac- ulty member Christina Truong, D.M.D. Each student held a probe like a pencil, heated to 250 degrees, and dipped it into a sticky wax be- fore dripping it onto a tooth model. They were building a tooth cusp ridge. The experiential part of learn- ing can often be the most reward- ing and effective way to hold someone’s interest. That’s why these experiences are baked into Dental Week, a new initiative in- tended to draw more young people—especially under-served populations—into the profession. Diverse backgrounds The students were from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Leadership OHSU Warm Springs Dental Week student at OHSU. Springs, Klamath Tribes and Kla- math County, Jefferson County, and Portland, Parkrose and Woodburn school districts. Of the group, 38 percent iden- tify as American Indian-Alaskan Native, 12 percent as Black Afri- can American, 26 percent as Latino-Hispanic, 12 percent as multiracial-other than white and 12 percent as white. A local clinician, Thien-Y Hoang, D.M.D., from Permanente Dental Associates, opened the week with an overview of oral anatomy and basic dentistry vo- cabulary, such as occlusal (chew- ing surface) and dentin (under tooth enamel) People get their lower front teeth first by age 6 or 7 and the upper front teeth next. Overall, 20 teeth appear within the first year of life. By the time of adulthood, one typically has 32 teeth, according to Hoang. The program is a collaboration with the OHSU School of Dentistr y, Permanente Dental A s s o c i a t e s , a n d O n - Tr a c k OHSU! This was the first of what’s expected to be two annual sessions. On Track OHSU! is a health and science pathways outreach pro- gram working to increase the num- ber of middle and high school stu- dents from underrepresented back- grounds in the health sciences and Oregon’s biomedical workforce. Permanente Dental Associates is an accredited partner of Kaiser Permanente Dental, providing com- prehensive, quality dental care in Oregon and Southwest Washington for 50 years. Some expect to be dentists someday, like Osvaldo Legaria, from Woodburn, who will attend Chemeketa Community College in the fall. Others are still exploring possible career tracks, like Diana Santiago who also recently gradu- ated from Woodburn High School. That’s why she was at Dental Week, as well as taking part in other On Track programs. “Find ways to differentiate your- selves,” said Dean Ron Sakaguchi, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., M.B.A., as he offered words of wisdom about the oral health care field. He suggested the students explore research as one option to stand apart. “Take advantage of opportuni- ties that come to you. You can never know how what you learn today—like this Dental Week expe- rience—could apply to your career.” Journeys into the field of den- tistry can take many forms. Cyrus Lee, D.M.D., CEO and ex- ecutive dental director of Permanente Dental Associates and an OHSU School of Dentistry alumnus, didn’t have a direct path after college. Instead, he took two years off. “This time was an opportunity to look at myself and decide what the next chapter would be,” he said. Lee had done research projects with OHSU while in college and extended that work while he con- sidered dental school. He also tu- tored immigrant children and taught at an alternative high school. “Make the most of your de- tours,” said Lee. Diversifying the health care workforce leads to better health out- comes, according to research. How- ever, there is a health care workforce shortage that is hampering improve- ment efforts. Oregon’s current bio- medical workforce is not representa- tive of the state’s demographics. Den- tal Week is an effort to change the current trajectory for dentistry in the state to the benefit of the profession and the community. $100,000 grant for museum’s Native arts The Museum at Warm Springs this month received a $100,000 grant to support Native arts. The funding will support Na- tive arts through programming fo- cused on supporting artists and inter-generational sharing of ar- tistic skills and knowledge, as well as supporting the museum’s orga- nizational stability. The grant comes from First the Nations Development Institute, bsaed in Colorado, through its Na- tive Arts, Language and Knowledge Program. The grant is made pos- sible through the generous support of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthro- pies. “This generous grant from First Nations Development Insti- tute will provide much-needed and extremely welcome support for our annual traditional master arts workshops for Warm Springs artists, who are central to the Ceremonial burn pit The ceremonial burn pit is available for grieving families to use for their loved one’s personal belongings. Please contact Land- fill staff to arrange a time to access the area. Please make sure staff is available after their daily tasks. This is generally in the mornings, but pre-arranged times can be any day of the week. Staff are not responsible for the burning of personal items, a family member or their desig- nee need to present from start to finish and contact the Warm Springs Police Department and Fire Management’s Dispatch prior to ignition. The landfill number is 541- 553-3163. The answering ma- chine is checked on a regular basis. Joie Simtustus, Confeder- ated Tribes of Warm Springs, Environmental Health and Sanitation. Permanent supportive housing First Nations Elizabeth Woody photo Tule reeds at the museum for a mat making class. museum’s programming,” said Elizabeth A. Woody, museum ex- ecutive director. Last year and the year before, 224 students participated in the museum workshops. “And we are so pleased that we’ll be able to con- tinue hosting these important work- shops during the two-year grant period,” Ms. Woody said. The grant monies also will sup- port three rotating exhibitions in the Changing Gallery. This will begin with the Thir ty-First Annual War m Springs Tribal Member and Youth Exhibit, opening in No- vember, Ms. Woody said. The First Nations Develop- ment Institute has worked to strengthen American Indian economies to support healthy Na- tive communities. First Nations is a Native-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, investing in and creating innovative institutions and models that strengthen asset control and sup- port economic development for American Indian people and their communities. First Nations began its national grantmaking program in 1993. Through year-end 2023, it had successfully managed 3,385 grants totaling nearly $80 million to Native American projects and organizations in 45 states, the Dis- trict of Columbia, and U.S. Ter- ritory of American Samoa. For more infor ma tion, visit firstnations.org The Supportive Housing Program of the War m Springs Housing Authority has partnered with the Behav- ioral Health Center to de- velop Permanent Supportive Housing. This includes a num- ber of units on land across from the trailer court area. Per manent Supportive Housing is a direct rental and housing assistance program for members of the Warm Springs community who are chronically homeless, with limited income, having men- tal health issues, physical dis- abilities, and or drug and al- cohol use disorders, who also have an acute housing need. Eligibility standards are as follows: The person must be an adult community member of Confederated Tribes; and be a severe or chronically homeless resident referred by the Behavioral Health Center. Another example: If you were homeless and went to residential treatment to get out of the elements and then left treatment and came back homeless. Other standards: Lack of supportive housing; have medical, mental, substance use issues, or physical issues that are detrimental to being in the elements. Be homeless or at high risk of being homeless. The potential tenant should provide proof of in- come. Examples include: Tanif, Snap, SSD, SSI, Child Support, Employment, G.A., etc., if the person has any. The person must have in- come below the 60-percent guidelines to qualify. To obtain housing, go through the screening pro- cess for qualification to en- sure you meet the necessary criteria for Permanent Sup- portive Housing. If you meet the tenant cri- teria for Permanent Support- ive Housing, then a case man- ager will begin to work with you and Warm Springs Hous- ing Authority to find an avail- able home. Per manent Supportive Housing assists with placing a tenant in a safe home. Ten- ants are responsible for prov- ing their rental needs. The project includes ten, one-bed, 650-square-foot homes, and a duplex for a small family. Support on-site will be provided by a Behav- ioral Health Center profes- sional.
