On Jan. 11, Gov. Brian Sandoval will present Linda Haigh, founder of Northern Nevada Dental Health Programs’ Adopt a Vet Dental Program, with the Veteran Supporter of the Month Award. This award recognizes Nevada citizens who dedicate themselves to easing the transition between military and civilian life for veterans and supporting veterans in need.
Since 2007 when she discovered 60 low-income veterans living with strain at Carville Park Apartments, and learned multiple war heroes were dying and not being found until days later, Linda Haigh has made it her mission to better the lives of veterans in need.
Haigh started a Veterans Outreach Program at her church to provide clothing, bedding, food, bus passes, gift cards and patriotic luncheons to the veterans living at Carville Park Apartments. She also met with the veterans every Friday to provide support and case management, which included advocating for better care for the veterans at the VA and taking them to their VA appointments, helping manage medications and complete VA forms, and providing information about and assistance with obtaining VA resources available to them.
Through her years of service to the Carville Park Apartment veterans, Haigh discovered high on the list of needs (and something nearly impossible for any of the veterans to obtain), was dental care. Because of rigid guidelines from the VA Dental Clinic (95% of local veterans are denied care there), most low-income veterans are left with nowhere to turn. Haigh found this unacceptable and after standing in line with two veterans with extreme tooth pain for 10 hours at a one-day free dental clinic only to be turned away (the clinic stopped treating at 125 cases and they were number 150), she made a promise to these veterans that she would get them the dental care they so desperately needed and deserved.
In 2010, Haigh made good on her promise when, together with her husband, she founded the Adopt a Vet Dental program. She started by asking her own dentist and other dentist friends if they would provide free care for these veterans. Six dental providers agreed to help and today that number has grown to 110 dentists and specialists serving veterans in 10 counties throughout Northern Nevada. To date, the Program has provided care for over 800 low-income veterans.
“It was shocking to me to see how our veterans who have served us so bravely were being left to live – not to mention learning how many were in critical need of dental care – something we tend to take for granted,” said Haigh. “I always felt there was a way to help these veterans live healthier, happier lives, and thanks to the undying support of the local dental community, we have been able to make more of an impact I initially imagined.”
In 2014 Haigh was presented with the Newman’s Own & Fisher House National Award at the Pentagon by former Joint Chief of Staff General Dempsey for her innovative dental program to help veterans. She is very active with the program today, running day-to-day operations, facilitating community presentations, fundraising and writing grants. Thanks to her efforts, there is even a Bill draft being presented during the 2017 Legislative Session which will make an appropriation to the Department of Veterans Services to support dental programs for veterans.
Haigh will be given the Nevada Veteran Supporter of the Month for January 2017 award by Governor Sandoval at a ceremony on Wednesday, January 11, 2017, at 9:30 a.m., at the Governor’s Mansion (Event Center), 606 Mountain St., Carson City. Friends, family, associates, veterans and supporters of veterans are encouraged to attend.
