• Campus Safety

Dr. Courtney Ingino Lamondin '09

We continue to provide emergency care to our Soldiers, but an initial shortage of personal protective equipment has made work incredibly risky. Dentists may not seem like they are on the front lines of COVID-19, but we are among those most likely to come into close contact with the novel coronavirus.
1. Full Name:  Dr. Courtney Ingino Lamondin

2. Class Year: 2009

3. Job Title: 63 Alpha: US Army Captain & General Dentist

4: Employer: United States Army

5: Year working in this industry (if applicable): N/A

6. How has your role and your day to day responsibilities changed since the COVID-19 Pandemic?

As an Army Dentist, our role is to ensure every Soldier is in their healthiest form, a term we refer to as Soldier Readiness. This allows Soldiers to deploy with the likelihood of dental emergencies being slim to none. Where we are normally able to treat any and all oral health needs of the Soldier, COVID-19 has left us very limited. All elective care has ceased and all urgent care (acute pain/swelling) is to be controlled using pharmacologic management alone until it becomes a true emergency. Soldiers are only able to receive emergency treatment, which decreases our Army’s readiness numbers and increases chances of emergencies during deployment. My role has also shifted to include medical triage of suspected COVID-19 patients.

7. What are some of the challenges you and your colleagues are facing due to the pandemic?

We continue to provide emergency care to our Soldiers, but an initial shortage of personal protective equipment has made such work incredibly risky. Dentists may not seem like they are on the front lines of COVID-19, but we are among those most likely to come into close contact with the novel coronavirus. While the virus may not be airborne, spraying water and air into a patient’s mouth creates aerosols. This is concerning because those aerosols remain in the air and could infect me, my colleagues, or even the next patient who comes into the room. It is my duty to keep my patients, my team, and myself safe which requires strict airborne precautions and proper PPE. Lastly, it has been a challenge balancing Soldier Deployment Readiness and the strict guidelines of care.

8. With this shift in your personal and professional life, how are you practicing self- care?

During these times it is so important to make your health and well-being a priority and to do so I make sure to work out very regularly no matter how tired I may be. I spend time cooking healthy meals, reading, and doing puzzles with my incredible fiancé who is a physician on the front lines. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we normally find peace out in the mountains, so we have been trying to continue to engage with nature as much as possible. 

9. What advice or words of wisdom would you like to give to our Spartan community?

You too can save lives and slow the spread of this novel virus by practicing social distancing. Wear a mask when in indoor public spaces to protect those around you. Make sure to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Stay positive, for positivity is contagious. And of course, brush your teeth twice a day =)


Back
    • Take Action

Join Our Community