Wonderful Service
County residents who have honorably served in the military shouldn't have to worry about dental problems once that service ends.
So officials at the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center decided to provide free basic dental care for all veterans in the county.
Cleanings, fillings and other procedures are provided to county veterans by five or six volunteer or retired dentists throughout the county and beyond.
Linda Thoma, director of operations at the health center, said the services have been provided to vets for four or five years.
She said while veterans receive health care benefits through the Veterans Administration, they do not get dental benefits.
“To us, it's important that we give back and we're able to serve these folks who served our country,” Thoma said.
She said the health center's volunteer dentists see 100 to 150 veterans per year.
“It's our way of supporting those who have given so much for us,” Thoma said.
Steven Gustkey of Franklin Township has been getting his annual cleaning and any dental work he may need for the past two years at the clinic.
Gustkey served in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard for 37 years, from 1966 to 2003.
“For veterans, it's a service that can be very helpful,” Gustkey said.
He said in addition to the excellent care provided by the dentists, the entire staff at the health clinic is very friendly and helpful.
“I believe they really recognize that veterans are an important part of our society, and by providing that service to them, it's a big 'thank you' to the vets,” Gustkey said.
Thomas Kollar of Harrisville also visits the dentists at the health center a few times per year.
He said he discovered the service after racking up about $2,000 in dental bills.
Kollar tries to make a small donation to the health center when he visits for a cleaning or filling.
“I usually give them 20 or 25 bucks,” said Kollar, who served in the Air Force from 1970 to 1976.
He said the work he receives is of excellent quality and setting up appointments is quick and easy.Kollar said he uses Medicare for health care, which includes some vision benefits.“Dental is the only thing I really needed, so I was happy to find this place,” he said.Dr. J. Gary McHugh, a longtime Butler dentist who retired two years ago, volunteers at the health center at least once per month and often more.He sees veterans as well as others who need basic dental care, such as cleanings, fillings and extractions.McHugh, who provided dentistry at several long-term care homes such as Sunnyview and Chicora Medical Center during his career, also served as an Army dentist from 1972 to 1977.His general practice training was at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, followed by four years at a small post in Maryland.“That is where I saw most of the patients,” McHugh said.The first five years of McHugh's life as a dentist was spent tending to soldiers and their families, and now he sees them again at the health center.“It kind of makes me feel like I've come full circle,” McHugh said.He sometimes tells health center patients who are veterans that he too was in the Army.“I'm thanking them for their service, and they are doing the same to me,” McHugh said.Sometimes, an amusing situation crops up where a veteran starts to decry the dental care he or she received from an Army dentist, but McHugh usually stops the rant.“I go, 'Wait a minute, you're talking to one here,'” he said.He said the veterans he works on are always very vocal in their appreciation for the free quality dental care they receive at the health center.“I don't ever remember a patient finishing treatment and not expressing their gratitude and their thanks before they left,” McHugh said. “It's been very rewarding.”He said the volunteer dentists at the health center do thousands of dollars in dentistry each day.“It's a wonderful service we're providing,” McHugh said.
