Zach: Oh, where to start? There are so many things, so Ill just pick one. I love the lights. Were fortunate to live in a neighborhood where people getveryinto the holidays,anditsfun to drive around and see what folks have come up with. My husband and I also like todecorate,and weve (maybe) gone a little overboard this year:)
Sarah: My favorite part of the holidays is the overall joyfulness I feel when I am spending time with the people I love so dearly. The season brings a lot of comfort and coziness for me with decorations, smells, gifts, and dedicated time to spend with those I love.
Crystal: When I think about the upcoming holidays drawing near, excitement fills my heart. I will spend quality time with my family and friends in a few short weeks. Throughout the year, everyone is so busy, but during the holidays, everyone will slow down enough to enjoy some memorable moments. It is a time of year I will have all three of my boys under one roof for a whole week. Then the night before Christmas, my extended family and friends will gather at my sisters house. It is a time that I catch up with my aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, nieces, nephews and friends. The highlight of the night is when Santa makes a surprise visit before he heads out to deliver the gifts to all the children.
Brady: I love taking time to relax, rest, and gather with family and friends. I also really enjoy getting a Christmas tree each year. My dad is allergic to pine, so we grew up with an artificial tree. Now, every year my fianc and I get a real tree, and I love the smell of pine throughout our house!
Sarah: My sisters birthday is Christmas Eve; she lives her whole year looking forward to her birthday, so we celebrate her on Christmas Eve- its my favorite day of the year. Her joy is infectious and on her birthday, her cup overflows with so much joy its truly the best.
Crystal: A holiday tradition that I cherish is going to my dads house for breakfast on Christmas morning. On Christmas morning, everyone wakes up to Santas surprises. After everyone discovers what Santa left for them, my four sisters and their families, along with my family (a total of 22), travel to my dad and stepmothers house. We go in our pajamas and, of course, freshly brushed teeth. My dad demonstrates his cooking skills in front of all the kids and grandkids by throwing eggs up in the air to flip them to the other side. The kids love it! I love this time because we spend quality time with my family while enjoying fantastic food.
Brady: My favorite tradition is Christmas morning breakfast with my familyactually, the entirety of Christmas day. The whole family gets together on Christmas morning for steak and eggs. I try and eat a mostly vegetarian diet throughout the year, so the Christmas morning cheat day is extra special. Then, in the evening we all gather again at my grandparents house for a very eclectic Christmas dinner. We like to joke that anyone my grandmother happens to meet that week at the grocery store is invited. Its an all-around great time with family and friends, and I always seem to meet someone new!
Zach: Im excited about opportunities to continue advancing access and equity in oral health care across North Carolina. Imreally passionateabout the work were doing at NCOHC and FHLI, and theres a lot of positive momentum right now. Im alsohopeful that more people will get vaccinated!
Sarah: I am looking forward to a year full of more and more hugs! As I think about the new year and what that means to me, I reflect upon the lessons and gifts of the previous year while being hopeful for joy-filled days ahead. In 2022, I am really looking forward to my upcoming wedding and spending those special moments with my partner and those who love us!
Crystal: NCOHC had a lot of success creating system change for oral health care access in 2021. As a new addition to the NCOHC team, I am looking forward to working on various initiatives and seeing what NCOHC accomplishes in 2022. Personally, I am excited to see my son, Chase, graduate high school in 2022 and see where life takes him.
Brady: I have so much to look forward to in 2022, both in my personal and professional life! Im excited to see the ways that NCOHC can leverage the work we did this year to create more positive change for folks across North Carolina.
The NCOHC team recently had the rare opportunity to venture out of our homes and wipe the dust off our desks. With masks in hand, we made our way to our Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation office to meet Mary Otto, journalist and author of the critically acclaimed book Teeth while she was here in North Carolina.
Otto is a health care reporter and a leading voice in oral health journalism. If you havent read Teeth, the book is an eye-opening account of the pervasive inequities that exist in oral health care and their devastating impacts.
I was covering social issues at the Washington Post, writing a lot about poverty issueshousing, programs for low-income families, said Otto. I ended up writing about this family that was strugglingthe Driver familyand I met Deamonte Driver.
Drivers struggle, rooted in a lack of access to oral health care, made waves across the nation and around the world. The 12-year-old would eventually die after bacteria from an untreated tooth infection spread to his brain.
It really took on a life of its own and they were really able to make some meaningful reforms. said Otto. Elijah Cummings became a powerful voice for adding a guaranteed dental benefit to the Childrens Health Insurance Program and for reforming Medicaids pediatric dental program. He himself grew up poor in Baltimore, and he would talk about how dental pain was expected it was a part of life for him.
In the years following Drivers death, Maryland made significant reforms to its Medicaid program, becoming one of the better states in the nation for Medicaid beneficiaries. There are still plenty of opportunities for improvement, however, especially with regards to adult dental coverage and equitable access to care.
Today, Otto is working on a new project, exploring the history of a union-driven, patient-centered medical system in coal country in the 1950s and 60s. Though her newest project is focused on health care as a whole, Otto remains plugged into the oral health space. During our meeting, we spoke about everything from teledentistry to an innovative clinic in Seattle dedicated to helping patients navigate anxiety and fear related to oral health care.
NCOHC, a program of the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, works to advance systems-level changes, improving the overall health and well-being of all North Carolinians by increasing access and equity in care. To stay up-to-date and get involved, join us today as a North Carolinian for Change.