AAOMS-Henry Schein Cares Foundation Global Outreach Program awards grants for volunteer oral and maxillofacial surgeons treating underserved patients

ROSEMONT, Ill., Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, the Global Outreach Program, a joint project of the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, Inc., and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), has awarded $2,500 grants to four oral and maxillofacial surgeons who are volunteering their surgical expertise to treat the faces and save the lives of indigent or vulnerable patients in underserved areas of the world. In addition, recipients will be able to select up to $2,000 in products from Henry Schein, Inc., the world's leading provider of products and services to office-based dental, animal health, and medical practitioners.

Recipients of the 2016 Global Outreach Program grants are:

Jolie Chou, DMD, MD, clinical associate professor at the University of Buffalo. Dr. Chou will use her Global Outreach Program grant to support her tour on the Mercy Ships International's Africa Mercy. During her two-week mission to Benin, West Africa, she will perform between 40 and 60 surgeries to correct cleft lips and palates, and treat and reconstruct the faces of patients with aggressive benign oral and maxillofacial pathologies.

Robert L. Flint, DMD, MD, professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Kentucky. He will be working with Operation HOPE (Helping Other People Excel) through the Philippine American Group of Educators and Surgeons (PAGES). Dr. Flint will provide surgical correction for cleft lip, cleft palate deformities, and other dentofacial deformities on 120 to 150 indigent children of the Philippines ranging from two months of age into adulthood.

Donald P. Max, DDS, a private practitioner in Lexington, Kentucky. He is partnering with the Coalition of Children in Need Association (COCINA) to provide minor oral surgery on children and adults in an under-resourced hospital in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.

Gary R. Parker, DDS, chief medical officer on the 16,500-ton Africa Mercy, the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world. Dr. Parker, who joined Mercy Ships in 1987, lives on board the ship with his wife and children. For the last 30 years he has donated his surgical skills to treating the diseases and conditions devastating the faces of the poor and vulnerable patients in Africa. His upcoming field service of 10 months will be in Cotonou, Benin, West Africa.  

"These four surgeons epitomize the devotion expected of healthcare providers. Donating their services to treat the faces, mouths and jaws of vulnerable patients around the world is admirable," said AAOMS President Dr. Douglas Fain. "We are deeply grateful for the partnership with the Henry Schein Cares Foundation that makes these grants possible."

"The work performed by this year's grant recipients will be nothing less than life-changing for the people they treat, and the Henry Schein Cares Foundation is proud to support their work," said Steven W. Kess, President of the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, Inc. "Oral and maxillofacial surgeons have the ability to restore the health and dignity of their patients, and they exemplify the Foundation's mission to 'help health happen.'"

The Program annually provides four, $2,500 grants to AAOMS members planning to participate in a voluntary surgical mission in the United States or abroad. The grants are provided to defray some of the costs generally shouldered by the participating doctor. Applications for the 2017 Global Outreach Program grants will open in the spring.

The experts in face, mouth and jaw surgery™ - The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) is the professional organization representing more than 10,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, OMS residents and professional allied staff in the United States. AAOMS supports its fellows' and members' ability to practice their specialty through education, research and advocacy. AAOMS fellows and members comply with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office anesthesia evaluations. For additional information about oral and maxillofacial surgery, visit the AAOMS website at http://www.aaoms.org.

Established in 2008, the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, carries out its mission through financial and health care product donations that support health care professionals and community-based programs focused on prevention, wellness, treatment, and education; disaster preparedness and relief; and capacity building of health institutions that provide training and care. To learn more about the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, please visit: www.hscaresfoundation.org. 

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SOURCE American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons

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