Oakridge Students Get Dental Care With Hackley Community Care

Remember when you went to school and the school nurse was often the secretary....maybe the bus driver too and also coached the girls basketball team?  Ok, maybe not everyone went to school at a one hall school in Belmont....but I did, and I have to tell you...going to the "school nurse" today is nothing like I had.

I visited Oakridge Schools "school nurse" and holy cow!

The hub bub comes from the recent addition of a great dental program instituted through Hackley Community Care and Delta Dental.   Can you imagine?  You're in school and you have a toothache....or maybe you're parents are busy and a trip to the dentist is had to fit in.  BOOM!  It's right there in the Teen Health Center of Oakridge Schools.  If you're from the age of 10-21....you have your very own specialized health center right in the school!

I got a news release form Hackley Community Care telling me about the goings on, and I had to go see for myself.  Got to the Oakridge Middle School campus and couldn't believe what I was seeing.  It's a full fledged doctors and dental office!  I mean everything.  From basics like shots...to exam tables...lab's....dental chairs and even behavioral help.  Where was all this when I went to school?  All I remember is the school secretary handing out Ritalin to the hyper kids like me.

The office is comfortable and inviting.  The people in there...amazing!  They truly love working with teens and their families.  This isn't the only school with this kind of service.  Hackley Community Care operates a campus at Muskegon High School as well.  Grant it...I wish some of the services were not needed....like smoking cessation, mental health help, and STD things....but from an experience when I was in high school where I had to take a buddy of mine to the free clinic in Grand Rapids.....I am glad it's there for our young people.


Judy Prime is the head of the Teen Health Center at Oakridge and was elemental in establishing the Oakrigde campus too.  Take a listen to what's offered to today's young people.

Pretty remarkable huh?  To think that right there on campus....just about any need can be met for today's kids is mind boggling.  What's more important is that with the community behind them there are no co-pays....all insurance is accepted and if a service has to be paid for...it's on a scale.  I absolutely love the idea of making sure our next generations knows that they were taken care of by a grateful community.  One thing I was shown is this beautiful wall of ceramic hearts.  Every ceramic heart has been decorated by the donors who've help make this Teen Health Center happen.  This..... THIS is Muskegon.  You can click the picture for more information about Hackley Community Care on campus at Oakridge!

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