(submitted photo/USask)

By Glenn Hicks

Back to School

University dental clinic to open amid quiet start for new P.A. campus

Sep 18, 2020 | 8:00 AM

The COVID-19 pandemic means there are very few students physically present on the new Prince Albert campus, (as is the case on campuses across the country), but it hasn’t stopped the much-awaited new dental clinic from opening next month. That means residents in the area and North will have access to important services.

The modern seven-chair Prince Albert Campus Dental Clinic is one of the key elements of the new single University of Saskatchewan site on Central Avenue and will start taking appointments from Oct.5. As with any dental clinic, it will feature the latest in health and safety protocols given the ongoing pandemic.

We are going to do our best to provide treatment to every member of the community who walks though our doors _{– Dr. Amrinderbir Singh}

“We have developed new, modified, innovative and safe ways to instruction,” assistant professor of dental public health for the U of S, Dr. Amrinderbir Singh, told paNOW. “That includes a blend of virtual and in-person hands-on learning, enhanced use of personal protective equipment, physical distancing and hand hygiene protocols, and the daily risk assessments for our patients, faculty, staff and students.” He added infrastructure modifications were made during construction to create the aerosol-controlled environment protocols laid out by the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan.

No one turned away

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Singh is also the director of inclusive community outreach with the college and said the focus is on ensuring no one is turned away from the clinic.

“That is what inclusivity is. We are going to do our best to provide treatment to every member of the community who walks though our doors,” he explained. “The college aims to become Canada’s leader in inclusivity and culturally appropriate care. So, this clinic will play a key role in improving access to oral healthcare services for priority populations in the community.”

Singh explained there will eventually be specialists working at the clinic to join the full-time dentist who will be supervising four fourth-year students at a time on site.

For more info on how to book an appointment click here.

Enrolment up for new dawn in P.A.

While the campus gears up to host the dental clinic, the vast majority of students will pursue their various courses remotely, as is the case elsewhere. However, despite the pandemic resulting in the decision to keep most instruction off campus through the fall and winter semesters, enrolment in P.A. reflects the same one per cent increase seen at the U of S in Saskatoon.

“Like all universities we were concerned that we might see a really big drop in enrolments, and we’d understand it if we did,” president and vice-chancellor Peter Stoicheff told paNOW following the virtual opening of the academic year the past week. He said the increased enrolment speaks to “the confidence in the quality of the education that we offer. Also, prospective students facing a pandemic can’t travel, they have fewer work opportunities, and I think education is a good alternative way to spend your time.”

Stoicheff pointed to a trend that was underway pre-COVID regarding how the working world is changing and how the university is addressing that with professional programs such as the Edwards School of Business, Kinesiology, Agriculture and Bioresources, Nursing, Arts and Science , Dentistry and Medicine, all of which have a presence in Prince Albert.

“We call ourselves ‘The University the World Needs,’ and it’s not a boast, it’s a kind of social contract to be alert to what’s needed out there.”

Speaking to the start of a school year at the new single site in P.A. – albeit amid the solitude in the lecture halls due to the ongoing pandemic – Stoicheff said having a whole new campus in another city other than Saskatoon was “momentous” for the U of S.

“I’m delighted we can play a role in animating the downtown and increasing the density and business activity there, and most of all delighted we can provide greater access to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to make it to Saskatoon and would therefore be waving a whole post secondary education goodbye.”

Over 50 per cent of the university’s students currently in P.A. self-identify as Indigenous, which is a much larger number than the already impressive 16 per cent on campus in Saskatoon.

The streets around P.A.’s new campus may be dramatically quieter than envisioned when plans were initially launched for the new site and while Stoicheff said that will all change in future, public health remains at the forefront of their thinking.

“We have to be patient and we’re determined exclusively by the pandemic. If next summer it’s over we’re going to see students there.”

–

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow