By Grace Fong | Director of Marketing
Newly arrived families are in need of assistance in accessing and understanding dental, medical and psychological health services. Last year, PRERNA helped resettle several families from Afghanistan. It is common for families from this country to arrive in the U.S. with a variety of dental problems from minor to serious. According to the refugees, families living in Afghanistan have little to no dental care or dental hygiene education.
While working with a refugee family of eight who recently arrived from Afghanistan, our Health Team Lead, Lorrene Randazzo, encountered an urgent dental problem with their five-year-old son. He was suffering from a painful dental abscess. After the first abscess was treated with antibiotics, a second abscess formed because he had not received necessary dental treatment.
The local dentist had given the family a referral (in English) for their son to seek extensive dental treatment for his very decayed baby teeth from a pediatric dental surgeon. The father did not know how to see this process through. With Lorrene's guidance and many weeks later, all the requirements of the dental insurance and the surgery center were complete.
On surgery day, PRERNA arranged and paid for transportation to the surgery center for the father and son. As they walked into the building, the son appeared to be very brave and calm by his father’s side. After the procedure, the father and Lorrene were escorted to the recovery room. As the father leaned over to gather up his groggy smiling and nearly toothless son, we were informed that the dental surgery was successful. Once father and son arrived home, they were greeted by their very relieved and thankful family. It was a rewarding experience to help navigate this family through the challenges of their son’s urgent dental issue toward a positive health outcome.
In the near future and with more donor support, PRERNA would like to increase the depth of services to refugee families. These are a few examples of what we may offer: health topic forums; first aid training; follow-up on health issues; workshops on how to use technology to schedule medical appointments and check test results. PRERNA is committed to helping refugees start their new lives with strong physical, mental and emotional health.
Learn more about PRERNA's healthcare services for refugee families. We invite you to join our mailing list for monthly updates and stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin.
Thank you again for empowering refugee families to thrive in the U.S.
With gratitude,
Grace Fong
Director of Marketing
PRERNA
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