Speaking with Janeice A. Wooten motivates you to do more, give more, and achieve more. Janeice, who received a National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP), is a general dentist in Saginaw, Michigan. Her passion for helping people is infectious.
Janeice grew up in Detroit and had always hoped to work there to be close to her family. When she decided to participate in the NHSC LRP, she spent four months searching for opportunities in Detroit but found nothing. She finally decided to look elsewhere. While she misses her family, she has no regrets in joining the team at Wadsworth Dental Center. She loves the community in Saginaw, and they truly love her. “I get thank you cards and gifts from my patients,” she said. “When I try to politely refuse, telling them that I am just doing my job, they insist. They tell me that by fixing their teeth, I helped them get a job, achieve something, or made others view them in a more positive light. It is personally rewarding to know that you not only restored someone‘s health and smile, but you‘ve restored their confidence and feeling of self worth.”
Janeice‘s impact does not stop there – she also has become a role model in the community. “As an African American woman, I have had patients who tell me they have never had an African American doctor before,” Janeice said. “Some have said, ’No one will take care of me like you will - you look like me.‘ One patient asked, ‘Wow, you‘re the doctor? I have never had a Black doctor before. You‘re like President Obama to me.’”
Janeice also tries to mentor her younger patients. “It means a lot to me to talk to the teenagers and younger children and ask them what they want to be when they grow up. I try to give information to them and their parents on scholarships and opportunities. Being in these communities and caring for these people is so meaningful to me,” she added.
The idea of service to her community has underscored many of Janeice‘s choices. While attending the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry in 2007, she and a dental school friend founded the inaugural Oral Cancer Walk in Detroit with the support of the Student National Dental Association, the largest minority student dental association in the country. “In Detroit, a large number of African American men were being diagnosed with oral cancer. We realized that many patients weren‘t seeking preventative care or following proper home care. In addition to this, they were abusing tobacco and alcohol and weren‘t being educated about the risks of oral cancer from using dip and snuff. We organized the walk, obtained a permit from the city of Detroit, advertised the event and asked participants for a minimum donation of $20. We spoke with local businesses along the route to negotiate use of their restrooms and enlisted my father and his cross country motorcycle organization, Gold Wing Road Riders Association, to serve as barricades. During the walk, several dentists volunteered their time to perform free oral cancer screenings on participants and passersby.”
The first walk was a huge success, raising nearly $2,000. The money was donated to the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry to provide free biopsies to patients with suspicious oral lesions who could not afford the tests. Janeice estimates that more than 100 people have been screened. In 2011, the walk celebrated its fifth year, and the numbers just keep growing.
The need to do more is a consistent theme in Janeice‘s life. Her dental assistants frequently have to pull her out of an exam room to move onto the next patient. “I just always want to see how else I can help someone. My staff reminds me that we can do more at future appointments. Having loan repayment from NHSC enables me to do just that. I can be there for my patients and my community, because I don‘t have to worry about loans and debt.”
