Compassion Dental is Northern Nevadas only faith-based nonprofit dental clinic, offering health and hope to low-income, uninsured adults. We are the first and only ongoing free dental clinic in Northern Nevada that provides exams, x-rays, fillings, extractions and cleanings to patients who meet qualifying criteria.

Compassion Dental strives to reflect the love and hope of Jesus Christ in all our services. Our desire is for each patient to leave healthy, with a beautiful smile on their face, and a promise of a purposeful future because of the compassionate care they received.

We hope to grow our organization over the next 5-years to provide all of Northern Nevadas uninsured and underserved eligible adults with healthy smiles, lasting friendships, and the promise of a purposeful future through the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Compassion Dental was founded as Compassion Community Clinic, a 501(c)3 organization, in 2012 by Chris Ormsby BSN, RN and Shari Byrnes, CDA. In March of 2013, with the help of many volunteers and generous community donations, we were able to secure a vacated dental office and make renovations to ensure the clinic was fully stocked and functional before our Grand Opening on December 7th, 2013. For the first six months, the clinic was staffed by three dentists, three hygienists, two dental assistants, and four non-dental volunteers.

When COVID-19 hit, Compassion Community Clinic was forced to shut down and was unable to reopen for nine months. During our hiatus, we felt God was providing us with an opportunity to reevaluate our mission, ministry, and vision for the clinic. After much reflection, we realized God had bigger plans for us than we could have ever imagined. In faith, our Board of Directors brought on a new Executive Director (JS Parker) and Director of Operations (Taylor Washalefsky) and decided to rebrand ourselves as Compassion Dental.

After many hours spent preparing to reopen the clinic under new management and new COVID regulations, Compassion Dental began treating patients again on November 14th, 2020. In the past, we had been blessed to treat about 70 patients a year, and just treated our 500th patient in March of 2021! However, we recognize the growing need for accessible and affordable dental care in Nevada, and have lofty goals to extend our reach within the community. By the end of 2021, we hope to have treated 200 patients, and to continue tripling that amount each year!

Compassion Dentals Mission and Ministry are only made possible through the generosity of our donors, the kindness of our committed dental professional volunteers, the devotion of our ministry and administrative volunteers, and the love of our caring and dedicated employees. If you have a heart to give back to our community, please consider joining Compassion Dental through donations or volunteering today.

Dr. Brown has been serving our Northern Nevada communities for many years. His passion to share and reflect the love of Jesus is contagious, and his compassion for the less fortunate and the hurting can be seen in all his service and ministry works over the last fifty years.

Dr. Brown was honored to serve on many prestigious medical and clinical Boards throughout his medical career, as well as in the U.S. Navy, leaving after 15 years as a Lieutenant Commander of the Medical Corps.

He is a member of South Reno Baptist Church where he has organized many Humanitarian Health Missions overseas, founded the Hosanna Home, and formerly served as the Director of the Missions' Team until resigning in January '22.

Christian religion is what he knew until in college, during March 1994, life hit rock bottom. Jesus changed his life and began a relationship with Jim. It seemed that working 'for God' was the next step, so he began a 21 year journey as a Student Pastor.

Jim, his wife of 24 years (Amy), and their 3 children moved to Nevada in June of 2015 to be the Teaching Pastor for Faith Ministry, North Valleys. He also serves as a Chaplain with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office Peer Support Team.