Diary of Comptroller Schaefer Intern, Robin Ricks

May 2006 -- Baltimore

            On my first day working at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of Oral Health the Deputy Directory of the office, Kelly Sage who is also my Supervisor, greeted me with a welcoming smile. My day began with me meeting with Kelly to discuss what the Office of Oral Health entails and what I will be working on during the duration of the internship. Kelly explained that the mission is to improve the dental health of Marylanders. The office is responsible for carrying out oral surveys of school-aged children and creating statewide educational and oral health precautionary policies. The programs provided by the office are targeted to populations that are at high risk for dental disease, these individuals are usually low income. After my meeting with Kelly, she gave me a tour of the State Building. I was amazed at the amount of services that the Health Department offers. My day ended with Kelly and my co-worker, Teresa, taking me out to lunch.

On my second day, I accompanied my supervisor to the Regional III Oral Health Conference at the Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center located on the campus of Morgan State University. The focal points of the conference were children’s oral health and advocacy. The conference consisted of individuals from health care agencies, dental hygienist, early childhood educators, and policy makers across the state of Maryland. The keynote speaker was Caswell A. Evans, Jr., Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Evans addressed the importance of advocating for oral health and the disparities young children face that suffer from poor oral hygiene. Some of the disparities include behavioral problems such as the inability to focus as they are distracted by their dental pain, impaired speech development, and low self-esteem. The overall message from the conference dealt with making small changes in policies at the state and national level dealing for the betterment of children’s oral well being.

June 2006 -- Baltimore

Kelly assigned me to work on projects dealing with Early Head Start, Head Start, and W.I.C. programs. I was amazed with the amount of responsibility that was given to me. One of my first projects included evaluating the oral health lesson plans and bulletin boards that the Office of Oral Health and WIC collaborated on a few years ago. I also created a survey for the Head Start and WIC program regarding the center’s use of the Oral Health Lesson Plans and Bulletin Boards. The survey was designed to assist the Office of Oral Health in determining what changes need to be made to the Oral Health Lesson Plans and Bulletin Boards for the following year. I served as the point of contact with the Head Start and WIC centers regarding the survey.

July 2006 -- Baltimore

I also I assisted my supervisor with revising the action plan from the Head Start forum. I first researched other Head Start’s oral health lesson plans and activities in different states and compared them to Maryland’s current oral health lesson plans. I also provided recommendations on how Maryland’s lesson plans can be improved. The recommendations I made were presented at the Head Start Collaboration Advisory Council meeting that I attended with my supervisor. Some of my recommendations included the expansion of access to providers by increasing the roles of general dentists, dental hygienists, and pediatricians. I also recommended the increase of oral health literacy of parents and caregivers; increase cultural competency of oral health providers; and, assist Head Start centers in complying with federal regulations regarding dental policies.

Dental decay is considered one of the most frequent infectious diseases that exist among children living in the United States. Up until now, I never knew how serious dental disease exist amongst children and the hardships they face. My internship experience helped me understand the role public policy plays in Maryland and the important role the government plays in the lives of the poor.