Imagine not being able to smile like everyone else. Or eat, or drink, or talk, or even hear like everyone else. A child born with a cleft lip and/or palate may not be able to eat, swallow, or speak in the “normal” way. The incredible team at the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic treats the unique combination of needs for each patient, walking side-by-side with them through 20 years of surgeries and other treatments all while encouraging those beautiful smiles.

While the Clinic has long been at the forefront of treatment and research, our equipment and facility have not kept pace with advances in technology and patient needs. That’s one of the challenges of being the nation’s sole independent cleft treatment clinic, the only one not embedded in a major medical center or university.

In early 2019 the time came to elevate the facility to match the exceptional level of care our patients receive. We’re delighted to share that despite the many challenges encountered during the nearly three years involved with making this happen—including a flooded lower level and the Covid 19 Pandemic—we have achieved that goal! Please join us in thanking all of our campaign volunteers and donors who have made this full, state-of-the-art renovation possible. The Clinic Team is already treating more patients—those with clefts and children with other special needs—in a better, brighter, modernized facility. Through their generosity the Clinic is poised to continue its vital work for many more years to come, bringing more smiles and life-changing treatments to our kids.

With grateful smiles,

Samuel Lombardo, Bunnie Buckwalter, and Liz Prada