Missy Strunk, RDH

September 27TH, 2026

To whom It May Concern

I am honored to nominate Missy Strunk, a public health dental hygiene practitioner from Douglassville, Pennsylvania, for the Philips Heart & Hand Award. Missy has devoted nearly four decades of her life to dentistry, and throughout her career, she has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to serving others, improving access to care, mentoring the next generation, and making a meaningful difference in the lives of people in her community.

Missy currently serves as the Senior Director of Dental Services at Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where she leads a nonprofit dental program that provides more than 9,500 free dental visits each year to people who might otherwise go without care. The program serves uninsured working adults and families, seniors, veterans, and children who face barriers to accessing dental services.

But what makes Missy special is that she never sees those 9,500 visits simply as a number. She sees the people behind them. She believes every person deserves to receive quality dental care and to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect regardless of their ability to pay.

One story that beautifully illustrates who Missy is involves a patient named Joanne Sorrell.

Joanne, an older woman living on a fixed income whom Missy met while volunteering at a Mission of Mercy (Mom-n-PA) event. Missy gave Joanne her card and encouraged her to reach out. Joanne did, and through Missy’s efforts, she received the dental care she desperately needed and no longer lives with dental pain. At Christmas, Missy even gave Joanne a small gift card. Joanne cried—not because of the gift itself, but because Missy had shown her that someone truly cared. It was a simple gesture, but it demonstrated something fundamental about Missy as she sees the whole person, not simply the patient sitting in the dental chair.

Missy understands that sometimes people need more than treatment. They need to know that someone sees them, remembers them and cares about what happens to them.

When Missy sees a need, her question is always, “How can we fix this?” That simple question reflects the heart of her approach to service. She connects patients with resources, recruits and mentor volunteers and students, and continually finds ways to remove barriers to care. She is continually energized by the connections she forms with individuals and communities and by the opportunity to make a lasting difference.

Throughout her career, Missy has grown from caring for individual patients in the operatory to creating opportunities for thousands of people to receive care. She has helped expand dental services into five community-based locations while building a strong network of volunteer dentists, hygienists, specialists, students and community partners. She also works with schools and community organizations to help children access the dental care they need. Missy doesn’t just provide care—she creates opportunities for others to receive it.

Missy is also deeply committed to the future of dental hygiene. She welcomes dental hygiene students into the public-health environment because she wants them to understand that dental hygiene can be much more than a profession. It can be a career built around service, education, advocacy, mentorship, leadership, and compassion.

Missy Strunk represents the very spirit of the Heart & Hand Award. Her nearly four decades of service demonstrate that caring for others is not simply something she does—it is who she is.

I am proud to nominate Missy for the Phillies Heart & Hand Award and deeply grateful for the opportunity to recognize someone who has spent her career opening doors, creating opportunities, and reminding all of us that sometimes the greatest difference we make in one’s life. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Dr. Jyoti Dangi DMD, MMSc, FICD

Supervising Dentist, CVIM

jdangi@cvim.org

484-678-9496