WINDSOR – Today, as one walks through the quickly-progressing construction site that will soon be the new Redwood Empire Surgery Center, the sound of dusty footsteps on newly-laid vinyl floors mixes with that of drills and hammers.

Construction workers call to one another and move large items of furniture as Nurse Director Julie Tucker crosses the threshold pushing a dolly piled high with boxes of medical equipment.

Where open spaces and holes in the wall and floor once were, desks and sinks and tubes and operating chairs have appeared over the last few days. The environment is active, noisy and generally enthused.

On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Pediatric Dental Initiative (PDI) will host a grand opening celebration of its new Redwood Empire Surgery Center in Windsor. It has been a long road for PDI’s staff, board and volunteers, and the enthusiasm of seeing PDI’s dream come true is palpable. As the picture comes together more each day, one gets an idea of what the center, once completed and operational, will look like and how many lives it will improve.

The Redwood Empire Surgery Center will serve families in a five-county region. In Lake County, the surgery center will support the longstanding oral health program coordinated through the Healthy Start staff and Marta Fuller’s Dental Disease Prevention Program, with partial funding from First 5 Lake.

This program strives to improve the oral health of children in our community through a combination of education and restorative care provided by local dental clinics. The surgery center will augment this program by providing sedated dentistry particularly to young children (ages 0-5) and people of all ages with developmental delays suffering from severe tooth decay.

In very young children, this condition is known as Early Childhood Caries (ECC) or “baby bottle tooth decay” and currently affects about 28 percent of children in California. The pain caused by ECC is not only physical but also emotional and psychological, due to the stigma that comes with having “bad” teeth. This stigma and suffering can have a profound effect on a person’s learning, development and self-esteem.

The Redwood Empire Surgery Center will be fully licensed to treat those children in need of oral surgery with general anesthesia. During the startup phase Dr. Mark Hagele, DDS and his skilled team will treat seven patients per day, two days per week. The center’s goal is to provide families with child-friendly quality care and prevention education. The surgery center will accept patients on Medi-Cal and Healthy Families insurances, and in time will also contract with other insurance providers. First 5 Lake awarded PDI a small grant to assist in the purchase of the surgery center’s medical equipment.

PDI invites members of the community to come and celebrate with them on Oct. 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. by enjoying some great snacks, music and fun!

PDI will supply educational games and activities for children and families: Snappy the Crocodile, trivia and active games, a coloring booth and face painting, radio DJs and the Windsor Bloco drum and dance troupe will provide entertainment.

PDI’s official ribbon-cutting ceremony will incorporate a few words from PDI’s CEO Viveka Rydell and a traditional blessing by Aztec dancers Xiucoatl.

Support PDI on this special day, provide your kids with information on oral health and cavity prevention or just have a fun day out with the whole family!

PDI is located at 1360 19^th Hole Drive, Suite 205, Windsor. For more information call 707-837-8833 or visit www.pedidental.org.

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