Dental Material Lab Renovation
On Holy Thursday, April 21, 2011, Dental Hygiene Program Director Ginny Saunders, and Expanded Functions Dental Assisting (EFDA) Program Director Diane Meehan were presented with a holy mess. Their dental lab was underwater. After receiving frantic phone calls from College President, Sister Mary Cecilia Jurasinski, OSBM, and Executive Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs Sally Mydlowec about heavy rain causing flooding, Saunders and Meehan feared the worst. “I was in panic, said Meehan. “All I could picture was that the Dental Health Center was totally flooded.”
Fortunately, the Dental Health Center remained dry, but the Dental Material lab had succumbed to the floodwater. “Most everything was destroyed,” Saunders said, including “all the materials and equipment.” Despite the huge mess they faced, Meehan and Saunders were able to look on the bright side. The EFDA lab was due to be remolded in 2012, so as Meehan said, “The flood stepped up the timeline nicely. 
With the help of Maintenance Supervisor Peter Dolinay and Roman Volosevich, the lab was completely dismantled by the end of July making way for construction on the new lab to begin as soon as possible. A lot of research went into planning the new lab. Saunders and Meehan visited other labs in the area to see what new technology was needed.
On September 20, the ribbon was cut revealing a brand new state of the art Dental Material lab. “There are no comparisons between [the old and new] labs,” said Saunders. The new lab features state of the art cabinetry and tabletops, comfortable chairs, better lighting, and all new technology including wireless internet connection and a flat screen television. While in the old lab, EFDA students had to wait in line to use dental hand pieces, now each student has a hand piece at their station. Additionally, because of the new facility, Manor is now able to bring in an Ortho-Assistant program.
“Students just love the new lab and can appreciate it,” said Saunders, and “we [the faculty and staff] really enjoy working in it because it is very comfortable and has all the technology.” Meehan agrees that the new facility provides a true lab atmosphere for dental studies and gives students more real life experience. “We [Saunders and Meehan] both feel proud bringing in potential students and showing off our great facilities. This flood was truly a blessing in disguise.“