Annual Report

June 10^th, 2026

Annual Report of the Strathcona Health Society’s Activities

This year marks Strathcona Community Dental Clinic’s 24^th year in operation. Throughout those years we have been able to provide countless low-income families, children and seniors with access to reliable dental resources and care. We continue to strive and adapt for paving the way to a better tomorrow in dental prevention and health.

General Information on Services 

Since October 2002 the Strathcona Health Society has provided quality dental care to the families of Strathcona, the Downtown East side and the Lower Mainland, helping those who really need it most. Our dentists and staff remain committed to providing the best care for those who face many barriers accessing dental care. A large part of the work we do is public education through community outreach, helping families access the information and care they need. Our clinic’s patients include children, their families and seniors over the age of 65. At this time due to longer appointment wait times we are only accepting new patients 18 years and younger or family members of existing patients.

In 2025 we provided treatment to 559 patients across 1254 appointments and we welcomed 153 new patients to the clinic. 42% of the patients we treated were children vs 40% in 2024 and 35% in 2019. We are steadily on track for reaching our goal of seeing 60% children. We were able to provide $8,088 in free treatment for our patients. This free work included $4,552 of treatment not covered by the government plans and $3,535 for outreach cases of patients from the community and school. 

Our main leaflet is now in 4 written languages, English, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic and our website now offers 26 written languages to access information. In the clinic spoken languages of our team include English, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, German, Hindi, Punjabi and Korean.

Major Developments this Year

Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP)

• October 1, 2022, the CDCP came into effect. As of May 29, 2025 the CDCP’s applications opened to all ages of eligible Canadians. 
• We are charging patients based on the CDCP fee guide as we do with the provincial ministry plans so they do not have co-pay amount. 
• The Canada Dental Benefit is provided through reimbursed payments directly to dental clinics.
• All 5 of our dentists are approved providers under the CDCP.
• Handouts regarding the CDCP are given to each parent with a child on the BCHK plan that has come in for appointments, informing them that dual coverage of government plans will be necessary in future to avoid having to pay a co-pay amount due to the ministry fees remaining stagnant since 2017.
• Renewal period – April 15 – June 1 – We have been reminding all our current patients to renew and have a reminder info poster at the front desk. We also offer to help patients renew over the phone using the automated system. 
• 40% of the patients we saw in 2025 were covered under the CDCP

Krosang’s Retirement from the Front Desk Position – 23 Years

Krosang helped open the office and saw the very first patients Strathcona treated back in August of 2002, she will be greatly missed as her role at the clinic has been monumental. A small gathering was hosted at the clinic on the afternoon of her last day, July 15, 2025 and a retirement gift was presented to her. Previous board members and staff attended. Krosang was very honoured and appreciative to be celebrated.

Dorothy Hu was hired as dental assistant/dental receptionist with 4 years experience and speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English. Her first official day was July 21, 2025. She and Cindy have agreed to share both positions. Cindy’s stipulation was that she received a wage increase of $3.00 per hour and that request was granted. The shared position is beneficial to the clinic and has allowed us to remain very flexible by minimizing having to pay a temp staff if someone is absent.

Johnny Lo – Resignation from the Outreach Manager Position – 19 years

After 19 years of working with us Johnny has submitted his resignation of the Outreach Manager position. Long term ideally, we would hire someone with coordinating experience and Chinese second language preferable. 

After May 31, 2026 his duties were reduced to;

Covered under Webhosting contract;

• Website administration
• Web posting content management

Billable:

• Microsoft 365 account administration
• PayPal account administration
• Letter campaign and donation receipt management 
• Other tasks as requested

Transition & handover include:

• Outreach account – email, One Drive, planner, i.e. detailed calendar of activities and contacts in the community
• Training:  briefing of activities
• Social media – Facebook and IG
• Exit interview with Board – May 25^th, 2026
• Other tasks as requested

Current Dentists

Currently we have 5 dentists working at the clinic, 1 of which is new to the practice, Dr. Kary Taylor joined us in April 2026. Dr. Anita Orendi has been working with us since 2003 and Dr. Jensen Wong has been working with us since 2018. Dr. Mamta Mehta and Dr. Bora Han both joined us in 2025. Dr. Gurpreet Bhatia worked with us in 2025 for almost 6 months but found the long commute too difficult with her schedule, we thank her for the time she was with us.

Clinic Upgrades

Clinic Sound System

Wireless speakers were set up and a subscription to Spotify for ad free music streaming. Music is vey important as it helps patients relax by reducing anxiety, masking the harsh sounds of dental tools, and making for a more pleasant environment.

New Waiting Room Chairs

One of the intentions of the VCC hygiene donation last year was to help liven up our waiting room. 5 blue wipeable chairs in the amount of $386 were purchased, they add a nice calming colour to the space.

Sandwich Board & Front Entry Display

Johnny created a welcoming cartoon tooth image for a new sandwich board. It was later decided to replace the existing cartoon teeth at the front entrance with the updated version as well. The goal is to attract new child patients to the clinic and increase the clinic’s visibility within the community.

Computer upgrades

Garibaldi Tech Partners installed 4 new workstations on Nov 19, 2025. The clinic was closed to facilitate the installation to minimize disruption. The final invoice was $6,160.65

Funding and Grants

Termination of Funding for Non-Profit Clinics from the Ministry of SDPR

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, has awarded grants to non-profit dental clinics in British Columbia for the purposes of operating costs, equipment purchase, and personal protective equipment purchase since 2017. This year they announced the funding would not be renewed or continued at any capacity. The BCDA worked tirelessly to advocate for NFP clinics and convince the Ministry to reconsider but to no avail. The SHS sent emails and letters, even some hand delivered to East Vancouver’s MLA but never received a response. 

The Ministry has provided operating, capital expense and equipment grants totalling $331,800 to the Strathcona Health Society since 2019 and we are very grateful for that. It has given us to opportunity to replace almost all of our dental equipment and support wage increases. 

MSDRP Dental Fees

BCDA’s Call to Action –BCDA prepared a template letter to assist NFP dental clinics in advocating for an urgent increase to MSDRP dental fees. As you may know, adult fees have officially dropped to just 30% of BCDA’s suggested fee guide, making BC the lowest among all provinces.

Letters were sent to 3 MP’s – Joan Phillip – MLA – Strathcona, Brenda Bailey – MLA – Vancouver-False Creek, Kelly Greene – MLA – Richmond-Steveston. The fees were not increased with the BC budget announcement, no surprise sadly.

Vancouver Community College Faculty Grant Fund

$800 was granted to cover the cost of supplies for a second distribution of hygiene kits to Strathcona Elementary school next year. A supply order was placed in April 2026 and the pouches will be prepared over the summer by volunteers. There will be distribution in October and April of the school year.

Direct Access Grant

The application for the 2026 Direct Access Community Gaming Grant was submitted in Nov, 2025, for the requested amount of $45,000. The grant was approved for $40,000 and funds were received in March 2026. The funds will be allocated to supporting partial wages of our ED, CDA and Outreach Manager and the website fees. The funds will also be allocated towards outreach supplies such as toothbrushes, printed material and support of dental screenings.

Student Education at the Strathcona Community Dental Clinic

VCC Dental Hygiene Students 

We hosted the VCC dental hygiene students earlier this year for 6 separate Mondays through January to April and treated 22 child patients overall. This rotation is crucial in the hygiene curriculum, giving students the opportunity to work with children. We will again be hosting them in the new year; it was our 19th year hosting them in our clinic. 

VCC Practicum Students

We hosted 2 CDA practicum students from VCC for 2 separate rotations of 2 and 3 weeks in April 2026 and June 2026. We also hosted 2 VCC dental reception practicum students for 2 weeks each in December 2025 and April 2026.

Hosting UBC Dental Public Health Students

8 students visited the clinic on March 11, 2026 to have a brief info session on our model of care and operations. This was the third year we are back hosting this visit annually. On March 16, 2026 – 2 dental students attended dental workshop given to SCC Day camp.

UBC Pre-Dental Club

Johnny has continued our connection to the UBC Pre-Dental club students. Most of our current active volunteers are part of this club.

Meetings and Conferences

Pacific Dental Conference

Erin, Johnny and 6 Volunteers hosted a complimentary booth for SHS at the 2026 PDC. There were almost 14,000 attendees. We connected with Dentists and other oral health care professionals to raise awareness about our clinic. We received a large donation of gloves and masks from Supermax and Medicom.

BCDA Not for Profit Workshop

Erin and Johnny Attended on Feb 6, 2026. Agenda included BCDA’s access to care committee, government relations, Health Canada – CDCP, Pacific Blue Cross, spread a Smile Clinic, Pharmacology and related topics, Provincial Dental Project BC Children’s Hospital, BCCOHP Update, interactive session: communication that connects. 

VDDS Spring Meeting

Erin & Johnny attended the Vancouver & District Dental Society boutique conference on May 1 hosted at the Fairmount Waterfront Hotel.  They spoke with Dentists and Dental students to raise awareness about the clinic.

Community Outreach  

This year Erin and our outreach manager Johnny worked very hard along side volunteers to do a ton of outreach in the community. Our outreach projects mainly focus on children in the local community in efforts of bringing the number of children seen at our clinic higher and making them the majority of patients seen.

Johnny and the volunteers have spent the past year revamping and developing new dental themed games for our dental workshops.

Day Camps, Youth Programs and Community Events

Johnny and his team of dedicated volunteers organize a series of dental workshops throughout the year, aimed at promoting oral health and preventive care. These events provide attendees with valuable information on dental hygiene, government programs, and available funding options for dental services. Each participant receives a complimentary dental care kit containing essentials such as toothpaste, a toothbrush, floss sticks, additional floss samples, and informational pamphlets on preventive dental care and clinic services. The workshops may also feature engaging dental-themed games and crafts, creating an interactive and educational experience for all ages.

Community Dental Workshops/Booths SHS hosted this past year

June 25, 2025 – Strathcona Community Police Centre Senior group at Maclean Park

August 5, 2025 – Strathcona Community Center Day Camp

October 25, 2025 – Strathcona Community Center Halloween Event

November 17, 2025 – UGM Youth Group

December 6, 2025 – Strathcona Community Center Santa Breakfast

December 9, 2025 – Strathcona Community Center CapC Program Lunch

December 22, 2025 – Strathcona Community Center Winter Break Day Camp

March 16, 2026 – Strathcona Community Center Spring Break Day Camp

Outreach Projects in the Local Schools

Hygiene Pouches

This year we were able to provide a second round of dental hygiene supplies to Seymour Elementary and our goal is to distribute to both schools twice per school year to make sure each child has access to a new clean toothbrush every 6 months as recommended in dental prevention.

Volunteers prepared 1000 pouches.  320 pouches total were delivered to Admiral Seymour school in Sept 2025 and April 2026. 500 were delivered to Lord Strathcona school in late September 2025 to kick off the new school year.

Additional hygiene pouches were also provided at the school dental screenings and youth community outreach dental workshop presentations. 

We also secured a one-time grant from Vancouver Community College’s Faculty Grant of $800 to cover the cost of a second distribution next school year to Strathcona Elementary.

Welcome to Kindergarten 

Admiral Seymour Elementary

May 21, 2026 – Johnny and Erin attended the event for the 3rd year in a row to connect with new parents offering information about our clinic, access to funding and free kid’s toothbrushes. 

Lord Strathcona Elementary

June 3, 2026 – Johnny and Erin attended the event as we do every year to connect with new parents offering information about our clinic, access to funding and free kid’s toothbrushes. We also reminded the kindergarten teachers that we offer field trips to the clinic with their classes.

Strathcona Elementary Kindergarten Field Trip

April 21, 2026 – A kindergarten class of 13 students visited our clinic for an educational and engaging dental experience. Each student received a goodie bag containing dental floss, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. The visit included a guided tour of the clinic, a dental-themed educational video, and an in-depth exploration of the operatory and its equipment.

This visit provided a valuable opportunity to introduce children to the dental environment in a positive and fear-free way. 

Free Dental Screenings

Nov 25, 2025 – Strathcona School – Dr. Han, Erin, Johnny and 3 Volunteers, saw 21 Kindergarten children, two of whom we saw in the clinic for free and offered free exam, cleaning and treatment to get them out of pain, as they required urgent care and did not have active dental coverage at that time (IO)

Dec 15, 2025 – Seymour School – Dr. Han, Erin, Johnny and 6 Volunteers, saw 52 children (1/3 of the school). It was split into a morning and afternoon shift. Our biggest screening ever!

School insert 

Our clinic is now featured in Strathcona Elementary’s digital welcome package. This helps us continue informing new families about our services, location and commitment to community oral health.

Donations and Special Support

2025 Donations

We had a goal of $24,500 for 2025 donations and we got over our target with our final number coming in at $36,688.77 vs $25,803 in 2024. It was a fantastic year for donations!

Material/Equipment Donations

We received 3 donations in 2025 of dental material and equipment from Dr. Winston Louie, Ret. Dr. Sandra Dee and former Dentist of our clinic Dr. Leetty Huang in the combined value of $11,050.

We also received chair donation that was in excellent condition from Dr. Lisa Reino facilitated by Patterson Dental. Patterson was so wonderful and covered the cost of delivery, install and labour. 

Hygiene Kit Donation Received

A student named Feliz from Churchill High School aspiring to be a Dentist got in touch with the clinic with a donation of dental hygiene kits for our outreach program. The student has started her own initiative called Bright Smiles and her mission is to spread awareness and information to children about dental health and prevention.

Fundraising Letter Campaign

Our annual Fundraising Letters to 1,050 dentists in Burnaby and Vancouver were picked up by MTS on Nov 10, 2025 for distribution. By switching from using Canda Post to MTS services, we had a 40% reduction in postage/courier fees. Thanks to this campaign we were able to surpass our fundraising goal for 2025!

Fluoride Varnish Donation

Another large donation of fluoride varnish was received which will be our fourth year offering free fluoride varnish application to ministry patients because the adult ministry does not cover that expense.

Donor’s Recognition

We extend our sincere thanks to all of our donors—every contribution makes a meaningful impact and we are deeply appreciative of all who contribute to our clinic and community.

We would like to recognize several individuals and organizations for their exceptional generosity: Dr. Marcy Schwartzman and the Smiles for Life Foundation, and we congratulate Dr. Schwartzman on her retirement and wish her well. We also thank Dr. Doreen Laszlo’s Caldor Foundation, Rob Mitchell and Dr. Debra Mitchell for their annual donation. Special thanks to our dentist Dr. Jensen Wong, who generously donates one month of his clinic salary each year.

A special thank you to Flavia Fox, a recent VCC Dental Hygiene graduate, for donating her first paycheque in support of our work. We also gratefully acknowledge our monthly donors, Dr. Daniel Ma and Dr. Cameron Robson, for their ongoing support.

The People Who Make It All Work

The Executive Director

Erin Riddell has now served as the Executive Director for just shy of 4 years; she finds the job challenging yet rewarding. In June of 2025 her position increased from 4 to 5 days per week. Her favorite part of the job is participating in the community outreach projects and building connections within the community.

The Staff & Dentists

We would like to sincerely thank the Strathcona Community Dental Clinic staff and dentists, who have been essential to the success of our organization. The Dentists who have worked at the Clinic in 2025 and 2026: Dr. Anita Orendi, Dr. Jensen Wong, Dr. Mamta Mehta, Dr. Bora Han, Dr. Kary Taylor and Dr. Gurpreet Bhatia, we thank them for their ongoing passion and dedication towards the clinic. We would also like to thank Dr. Cindy Neufeld for filling in on days our dentists were away.

We would like to thank our Hygienist Rachel Pang for her dedication and service to our patients and clinic. Patients are very happy that we now have a hygienist as well. 

We would also like to thank our Certified Dental Assistant/Dental Receptionist Cindy Xie who has been with us for 18 years and Dorothy Hu our Dental Assistant/Dental Receptionist who joined us last year in late July. They both do a wonderful job caring for the patients at the Strathcona Community Dental Clinic. Last but not least, we would also like to thank our Outreach Manager, Johnny Lo who has been tirelessly working with the Strathcona Health Society for 19 years, we wish him the best in his future endeavors.

The Board

The Strathcona Health Society Board has a strong membership that represent dental professionals, the Strathcona neighbourhood, the community at large and the areas of health care, research and law.

In August of 2025 Vicki Scully informed the board of her resignation from the board of directors. We thank her for her time with us and the insight she brought to the board of directors. 

A big thank you to all our Board Members for your dedication to the work of the Strathcona Health Society. Thank you to Board Members: Dr. Rosamund Harrison, Alissa Li, Kirby Smith and Dr. Murielle Arsenault.