Hi,
Not to be sly or sneaky but I have held back with one important piece information about our clinic because of the sensitive nature of it. I wanted to answer all your deployment questions first and once you got those out of the way I wanted to inform you. If you have done any research about Camp Cropper on the internet you are aware of it already. Our mission here at Cropper is a unique one unlike any other clinic in the 502nd: We are the only Detainee (the only time you will see this word used) Care Clinic in the Company. One other clinic use to see "Special Patients" but the facility was closed and the clinic transformed to a Coalition Care Facility. All other clinics are Coalition Forces Clinics. As per our Special Mission we are located in the hospital (CSH). We have coalition care hours for sick call in the morning everyday and a half day on Saturday for appointments. We average a few walk-in's daily. Our special patients are seen on a requested basis only, by them or by us. Meaning they or we have to request a visit to the dental clinic.
Don't worry there is never a shortage of patients who initiate the process to come in and be seen. We see on average about 30 patients a day and treat half of them. The other half either refuse treatment (extraction usually), don't need any treatment (can't find anything wrong), or want treatment we don't provide at our facility due to limited resources: Pros, Ortho, Endo and prophies. We only offer fillings, extractions and an occasional anterior pulpectomy--keep the treatment mission simple!
Right now we are limited on that number--15 in the morning and 15 in the evening which we usually complete in a few hours work each shift. We are also pushed by the number of patients who are waiting for treatment. When we arrived to Camp Cropper the backlog was close to 200 patients. As I type that backlog is less than 10 but it can increase quickly. We usually get between 50 and 70 requests for dental evaluations every few days.
Jax will show you what we have done and what has worked for us. You are free to work out your own practice methods. We took what we were given and have streamlined it. As you work in the clinic and gain experience you will begin to understand what your limitations are clinically and professionally with the patient populations we treat at Camp Cropper.
Editorial: You have the advantage of knowing what you are getting into before you leave home. We found out after we had been in Balad two weeks. Personally, I chose not to inform my family about the identity of my patients. Why cause increased concern at home when there has been no need for it. After returning home, I plan on informing them that most of our patients were of the "special type." Maybe I am being overtly cautious but it's what I have chosen to do.
We have been fortunate to never had any incidents at the clinic. We have had to remove some patients from the clinic for not obeying the rules and the Coalition Escorts are good at their jobs and have done well to keep our clinic safe. The patients are, for the most part, on good behavior. You will learn that working with them will change your treatment paradigm. They have grown up without the benefits of regular dental care or education. Their dental IQ isn't very high but if you ask them they seem to know exactly what needs to be done and will have a story to tell about it.
Go slow at first and get use to the process and become familiar with the patients. After your feet have settled on solid ground you can open the gates and let the stallions run.
I hope you are not upset with me for doing this but I thought it was more important to help you get prepared for this deployment. Camp Cropper is a high-level "special patient" center and a unique one at that! I will be an email away and may even call to see how things are going.
Good luck and please let us know if you have any questions or needs.
Mike
