Nostalgia

Since I’ve started to volunteer at Bering Omega, there have been a number of people whose stories and situations have made an impression on my life. When interacting with some of the patients, I have allowed myself to reach beyond merely my duties and instead nurse those elements of inter-human responsibility.

One of the times when I felt really great about volunteering at Bering Omega was when a patient who has Parkinson’s disorder came in for his appointment. I was assigned to help the nurse take him around. The reason he stood out is that I have an inclination towards patients with Parkinson’s disorder since I too have a father figure who has been fighting Parkinson’s for 10 years now. I used to take care of him when I still lived in Kenya. I still visit him every time I return to Kenya. 

Having the opportunity to help someone with Parkinson’s was nostalgic as it reminded me of my dear father figure at home. Nonetheless, I also felt comfort and assurance knowing that someone, somewhere, somehow will return the favor and reach out to my father figure in Kenya. 

My World at Bering

When I started at Bering Omega I was assigned with clerical tasks such as filing the patient files back on the shelves, calling patients for reminders, and helping with general filing. With time I got better in all these tasks and, the management, realized that I could be entrusted with more and so they started giving me more responsibilities such as doing the paper work for patients, doing the lab work of patients, helping patients hands-on (because many of the patients at Bering Omega are older). They also told me to shadow the head dentist, who is the director as well. I learn a lot from my volunteer work and I continue to learn something new every time I go there.

Another task that I perform at Bering Omega is to organize patient files for the upcoming appointment. We file the patient’s file on the daily appointment shelf to access the files easily during appointments because there are so many patients that it is sometimes hard to find the file from the primary shelf. At other times I help in the lab sterilizing equipment and washing equipment. Sometimes I help them to update patient file with latest CPCDMS, Medical History and lab work so the doctor knows how to treat the patient, and this is usually updated every six months. There are so many patients that this process goes on and on. Sometimes I also help in going to the laundry area to collect towels and napkins for the patients.

After being there for six months, I try to finish all the left over because when the patients are in the staff is very committed and busy, leaving little to no time to address the loose ends. This is why volunteers are always needed . There is not one day, since I have been there, that I did not have work.

I am very happy with the professionals who work there. They take their work seriously and are really motivated to help their patients in any way that is needed. I have a very friendly rapport with all the people who work there. They invite me to events and sometimes to lunch, which Bering Omega has for its staff. The receptionist and the administrative staff I work with usually wait for me to finish up most work.

New Project

I changed my project from CIS (helping children) to helping HIV/AID's infected people with their dental needs.For this, I volunteer at Bering Omega Dental Clinic's administration section. I have been here since November '11, clocking in 6 hours / week religiosly.
   I wanted to do some volunteer work in Fall last year and so I started searching for a place where I can really make a difference. I also wanted it to have something to do with Dentistry as I have a liking towards this field. After applying to many places, I was awarded a few choices and decided on Bering Omega because I realised that it was different than all others.
    HHH is for homeless people but I found it less helpful, its possibly due to my roots in Kenya where I  have seen real poverty and the homeless here are not so in the true sense. I found many of them to be drug addicts who had run away from their homes. San Jose was another good choice but it was not different either. Bering Omega was my best choice because they are a Dental Clinic that offers a full range of oral and dental healthcare services to those with HIV/AIDS in the South-East Texas region.       
       For those with suppressed immune systems due to HIV/AIDS, proper dental care is of the utmost importance. HIV positive individuals can often suffer severe consequences from untreated infections that do not occur among people with healthy immune systems, many of which can ultimately be fatal if left untreated. I learnt a lot about the US system of management at Bering Omega, they have a custom database system to schedule appointments, admit patients, recording and filing patient files. They have a semi-automated system which enables them to manage some records in digital format while allowing some others to be kept manually.