)
Dr. Anthony T. Vernillo
|
Since 2001, NYUCD, with generous support provided by Henry Schein,
Inc., has been partnering with Miracle Corners of the World (MCW),
a not-for-profit community development and revitalization organization,
to bring desperately needed dental care to residents of remote villages
in Tanzania, East Africa. Cofounded by Eddie Bergman, a son of Henry
Schein, Inc., Chairman and CEO Stanley Bergman, MCW works with disadvantaged
communities around the world by empowering young people and fostering
strong leadership development to improve education, health care,
and general economic conditions.
To accomplish MCW's goal of improving oral health, Eddie reached out nearly five years ago to his friend Dr. Ruben Cohen, a 2002 NYUCD graduate, and asked him to help put together a team of dental students and faculty to travel with him to Arusha in Tanzania to help set up a permanent, sustainable dental clinic. Within eight days, the NYUCD team had organized the clinic and screened and treated over 200 patients, performing procedures ranging from cleanings and fillings to extractions. Other, lengthier trips followed, during which the NYUCD team was joined by clinicians and educators from other African countries and from Europe. Together they taught efficient, inexpensive oral health therapies and techniques to local dentists. According to Dr. Anthony T. Vernillo, a Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Radiology and Medicine, who has been part of the MCW/NYUCD alliance since its inception, "Everyone who participates in the MCW/NYUCD outreach initiative feels extreme pride in knowing that we are helping to break down barriers in the global village. Indeed, I believe that this initiative expresses many of the highest goals of globalization: to improve health and well-being for people across the globe, advance the global exchange of knowledge, and provide increased opportunities for students to gain international experience while still in school."
|
)
)
)
)
