Columbia University College Of Dental Medicine And Henry Schein, Inc. Collaborate To Bring Better Dental Care To Isabellaï¾’S Senior Community
New York, NY, September 14, 2006 -- On Tuesday, September 19, 2006, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at Isabella Geriatric Center to introduce the new dental suite located on the medical/dental floor at Isabella.
“What we will be celebrating next Tuesday,” explains Dr. Ira Lamster, the Dean of the dental school, “is a collaboration between a health care facility (Isabella), a health care educational institution (the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine) and a corporate partner (Henry Schein) to address the oral health care needs of older adults in our community.”
For over a decade, Henry Schein, Inc., a leading distributor of healthcare products and services located in Melville on Long Island, has been a major supporter of Columbia University College of Dental Medicine’s efforts to provide access to care programs and build community advocacy. Schein has contributed to the school’s facility and infrastructure program, and most recently donated over $50,000 worth of state-of-the-art dental equipment to the dental school’s ElderSmile program. Through ElderSmile, Isabella has received the components for a brand new dental suite - 17 items that include a dental chair and all the accoutrements, hand-held equipment, a panoramic X-ray system, fixtures and cabinetry.
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine launched ElderSmile in 2004 “because dentistry in the aged population has not received significant attention,” says Dr. Lamster. ElderSmile takes a multifaceted approach to the issue of dental care among a new growing population of older Americans. It combines outreach, education, prevention and treatment, along with a program to train future dentists in geriatric dentistry.
Isabella has enjoyed a long partnership with the College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Gregory Bunza, an Associate Professor for the college is also an Isabella staff dentist. Steve Kess, a Vice President at Henry Schein who is also on the school’s Advisory Board, says that Schein is proud of its long-lasting relationship with the dental school and is “happy to help Isabella become a hub facility,” to meet the emerging needs of a growing community.
Isabella is a non-sectarian, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering skilled nursing and rehabilitation, home healthcare, adult day healthcare, senior housing, child daycare, a resource center, the 50+ Club, NORC programs and other services to benefit the community.
### Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. www.cumc.columbia.edu