In April 2013, Charlie Stermer began working as an administrative assistant with Samaritan Health Ministries, a nonprofit that provides health care services to those without insurance in the Cedar Park/Leander area. She later went to school to become a dental assistant to help grow SHM’s dental care to serve more residents. She graduated from Dental Genius Assisting School in December 2014.
What is SHM?
We’re a nonprofit clinic for the uninsured. We provide [treatment for] anything from acute care, chronic care, women’s health, to mental health and dental.
We’re basically here for anybody out there who doesn’t have health insurance or [is] in the category where they can’t qualify for government or state programs.
We see lots of [tooth] extractions. We do get the patients that are just in dire need [of dental care]. They have abscesses, and they just can’t stand the pain anymore.
How did you start?
I heard about the clinic through my neighbor, a retired nurse. She said the executive director, [Erika Pratt], was looking for an administrative assistant, and I was in a job as an insurance agent where I was doing the same thing over and over. I don’t like doing that, because it just seems like after a while you’re wasting your time. I like to juggle different things.
When I came in to talk to her, one of the first things that Erika said was, ‘This job will constantly change. Yes, I may be hiring you as an administrative assistant, but I see different things in your future.’ I was like, ‘Yes, this is the job for me.’
What do you do at the clinic?
I do anything from getting the receipts and stuff from bookkeeping for the end-of-the-month report, so I gather all that information into spreadsheets. I’m a backup from the front desk.
I’ll sometimes go into the pharmacy and type up labels if they need me to. Now I’m a dental coordinator, so I coordinate all the dentists that volunteer, and I schedule patients for those [volunteer] days. On those days, I’m a dental assistant.
How did you become a dental assistant?
When I first started, this dental room looked like the 1970s. None of the dentists wanted to come volunteer because the equipment was so outdated. Erika worked hard and got a grant for it, so we got a brand-new floor and got brand-new equipment, but it wasn’t being utilized.
What we were running into was we had dentists willing to come in and volunteer, but they didn’t have dental assistants. So that was our roadblock. We sat down, and Erika said, ‘What would you think about going to dental assistant school?’
I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ It was something new. I’ll do whatever I can. Doing something new would be great. I’m never scared of challenges.
It took three months to get certified [as a dental assistant]. For the fall, I had to give up Saturdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., every [week]. That semester I missed out on my daughters’ volleyball games and any other functions that came up, but it was worth it. I really enjoy it.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
It’s rewarding because my job is a constant change. I like new challenges and learning something new. You can never get enough under your belt, I think.
I love working here. It’s nice to come in and put a smile on someone’s face. [Our patients are] all so grateful for what we do.
Would you go back to school in the future?
I would consider getting another certification. I looked into going back to be a dental hygienist. It’s a five-year program, and I’m getting ready to have two high schoolers and a middle schooler, so it might not be out of the question later on in life, but right now it would be too much.
