Bonnie Petty, registered dental hygienist with WKU’s Institute for Rural Health, provides a dental exam for a Patriot Industries employee during a visit to the company’s Clinton County plant.

While there appears to be a slower pace on the WKU campus in the summer months, the Institute for Rural Health (IRH) is still actively involved in the community.

The IRH and the Lake Cumberland District Health Department collaborated to provide dental exams to 100 employees of Patriot Industries, a company that makes apparel for the United States military, at their two facilities in Clinton and Wayne counties.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department received a large, multi-year grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a worksite wellness program at Patriot Industries. One component of the worksite wellness program is geared toward oral health. IRH staff members were excited to share their expertise and services for the dental health component of the worksite wellness grant. Both entities have spent the past six months planning the May 20-22 dental events.

According to the IRH Dental Director Dr. Daniel Carter and Registered Dental Hygienist Bonny Petty, the employees of Patriot Industries were very grateful for the services offered by the IRH.