That's all so lovely—and we'll make sure to include your shoutouts to Bunny! So now tell me, what is your history with ViM?  

As a dentist I attend the monthly meetings of the Berkshire Dental Society, and we'll often have a guest lecturer. Now, all dentists spend time doing volunteer work in their office for people that can't afford dentistry—either for free or for a discount. In the early 2000s, a representative from ViM came to one of our meetings and gave a really nice presentation about a new concept, Volunteers in Medicine, where people could have a home of their own for dental or other medical work. It would be a very warm, friendly, welcoming place for people who sit on the fringe of this healthcare system, who just didn’t have access to good health care because of their particular social or financial predicament. Today it is that great home for people to come to, and I have to say it's been a great home for me to go to, too.  

I feel exactly the same way. So you were at ViM right from the beginning. 

Yes, I was there the day the dental clinic opened. I remember vividly my first patient: a man who came in with a lot of pain, but he spoke no English. But he came with his 9-year-old son who could speak English. So he was our first dental interpreter, this 9-year-old boy! He translated the issues that his father was facing, and we were able to explain to the boy what the problem was and what could be done, and half an hour later the man walked out pain-free. So that was quite a rewarding beginning to the dental sector of ViM. We had a wonderful woman by the name of Barbara who went above and beyond to make sure that the clinic was ready.  

Gosh so that's almost 20 years. You were volunteering and working at the same time. 

Yes, I was like a young boy. But I was at a time in my life where I’d cracked 30 years working, and ViM was an opportunity to expand my interest in dentistry and maybe be a help to somebody, and it proved to be very rewarding that way. I was enlightened and invigorated and I looked forward to every Wednesday when I knew I'd be going to ViM. It was such a different opportunity to treat patients without any questions, just treat their needs. 

It added a whole different dimension to the outlook of working: being able to go to work every day allowed for this opportunity to volunteer, and it was it was so good to see people with different needs who were really no different than me or any of the providers who were there. We were just fortunate to be able to help them.