Tzu Chi, UIC dental students offer free care in Chinatown 

By Susan Fong 

The Tzu Chi Foundation hosted a health fair July 8 at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Chinatown.

Jeng Su, MD, the foundation’s Midwest team medical director, organized the large-scale community outreach event, which brought together 29 volunteer doctors and students of varying specialties. Prominent among them were members of another local group, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry students and faculty representing the college's Chinese American Student Dental Association (CASDA).

Within the four hours slotted for the event, 300 patients received health screenings, oral hygiene instruction, and treatments under the supervision of dentists, physicians, and students.

“Elmhurst Hospital discounted the rate of the blood tests, such as CBCs [complete blood counts], CMPs [comprehensive metabolic panels], and lipid profiles to the organization so that we were able to pass on the tests at no cost to the patients,” said Su.

The organization operates two mobile dental units and expects to have a van by the end of the year.

The Tzu Chi Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1966 by Buddhist nun Dharma Cheng Yen in eastern Taiwan. She felt the lack of love for others has been the root of many problems and, to save the world, one must begin with transforming human hearts.  

She began her role in this transformation by asking 30 housewives to save 50 cents a day and donate that money. Giving daily, Yen said, reminds us kindness is a constant process rather than a monthly or yearly event. 

The foundation offers charity, medicine, education, and culture throughout the world. Today, the Tzu Chi Medical Association has members from 36 countries who contribute voluntary services. Soon it will open a free clinic in Darien, IL, to offer medical and dental services to those without insurance or who have high medical deductibles.

In 2003, Jenny Lee, DDS, and James Lai, DDS, founded CASDA at the UIC College of Dentistry to promote diversity at the school and reach out to the Chinese community.

“The mission of our group,” said President Thomas Kwong, a fourth-year student,  “is to help the Asian dental community become more involved with the health and welfare of the general Asian community.”

Participation also carries personal significance for Kwong, “I was brought up by two loving parents who have shown me the importance of keeping our cultural traditions and becoming a community role model,” he explained.

Membership is open to everyone at the college, from first-year to postgraduate students. CASDA currently counts 15 members of Chinese heritage. It meets the third week of every month with faculty mentor Kathy Jean, DDS, clinical assistant professor, periodontics. 

Students join CASDA for many reasons.

            “I have always imagined CASDA to be a place to meet more experienced individuals in the field and for them to share enlightening advice,” explained fourth-year student Ed Cheng.

            “ CASDA gives me the opportunity to enlighten non-English speaking Asians on the importance of how a great smile can affect self-esteem,” said Nelson Lo, a fourth-year student.

Jean explained that multiple studies show Chinese immigrants in particular "lack the knowledge of oral healthcare and lose teeth due to periodontitis—gum disease.”

CASDA members speak Cantonese and Mandarin to varying degrees, as well as English. 

“What was surprising for these patients [at the recent health fair] was that we spoke Cantonese fluently,” Kwong said. “They hadn’t expected this from us as American-born or raised Chinese.”

            “I had a patient tell me that he popped his abscess with a toothpick,” said second-year student Kelvin Chou. “It just goes to show how uneducated and desperate these Chinese patients can be.”

            Jean explained how after the screenings the students, unaware that a reception would be held for the medical team, had all immediately left for bubble drinks—a Chinatown specialty.

            “There definitely still is a generational and cultural gap between the students and the population they serve,” she said, laughing. “It will be interesting to meet them after several years in practice—they are at the beginning.”

          “Being involved in the Chinese community allows us to understand the struggles that people are having in maintaining their health,” Kwong said.

All the students agreed they must always remember there are many families who still cannot afford dental care. 

For more information about how to obtain care for an individual or community group, contact Kwong at tkwong@uic.edu or the Tzu Chi Foundation in Westmont at (630) 963-6601.

The next Tzu Chi healthcare event will be offered at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave., on Sunday, Aug. 19, between 8 a.m. and 1p.m.