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.
The time has come to elevate the facility to match the exceptional level of care our patients receive. Please join us to help LCPC treat more patients—both our patients with clefts and children with other special needs—in a better, brighter, modernized facility. With your support, we can bring more smiles and life-changing treatments to our kids.
With grateful smiles,
Samuel Lombardo, Bunnie Buckwalter, and Liz Prada
Campaign Co-Chair
Chairman and CEO
Benecon and ConnectCare3
Campaign Co-Chair
Real Estate Developer
Executive Director
Thank you, Dennis Owens, news anchor, clinic volunteer and patient parent; and Anthony Durso and team at ABC27 in Harrisburg!
The Clinic does not have enough pediatric dental rooms to meet the need for these services in a sustainable manner. With just two chairs suitable for special needs children, prospective patients must wait up to five months to get an appointment with a pediatric dentist.
The orthodontic suite is at capacity with four chairs. The room offers little space for parents to remain with their children, and close quarters for the privacy of each patient during treatment discussions.
Parents of a child in a stroller or motorized wheelchair must navigate up the alley to reach the Lime Street entrance. The sidewalk is too narrow, and the concrete is cracked and uneven. Snow and ice can make the difficult path all but impassable.
Few people (including the staff) use the Clinic’s lower level. It houses research projects and hosts a few large meetings a year, but it doesn’t suit the organization’s modern needs. The 60-year-old building must be renovated to better meet families’ needs and expectations.
PROACTIVE INFECTION PREVENTION
Following the latest guidelines from the CDC for dental care, our entire facility will be equipped with a building-wide HEPA filtration system and negative pressure HVAC.
INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY
Arriving for an appointment will become easier—and safer. The Clinic’s main entrance will move from Lime Street to the rear side of the building. The change puts the entrance right next to the parking lot—a more convenient location for everyone, especially parents with children in wheelchairs or strollers.
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE ADDITION
New plantings behind the building will beautify the entrance and reduce stormwater runoff.
GOING UP
Stairs or a new elevator will take arriving families to the main floor.
ADJACENT IMPROVEMENTS
Handicapped parking spaces will be next to the new entrance. The parking lot will be repaved for smoother walking and wheelchair travel. A mural will identify the Clinic and enhance the neighborhood.
HELPING MORE KIDS
The renovations will enable us to help children with special needs beyond craniofacial conditions. Other non-profit health care organizations refer their most complicated pediatric dental cases to the Clinic. These children usually have medical or behavioral conditions that require specialized care.
Many have severe dental decay, the most common chronic childhood disease. It causes pain, infection, premature tooth loss, and problems with growth and development. If their mouth always hurts, a child can’t learn and grow. The Clinic is one of only a few dental practices in Lancaster County that participates in Medical Assistance programs.
Families will discover the main floor has “flipped,” moving the main entrance and waiting room to what is now the rear of the building. Patient care and support services will expand to occupy almost the entire main floor. The renovated spaces will benefit the families who spend hours at the Clinic on Team Day, seeing all their child’s specialists and therapists in one convenient visit.
AMENITIES FOR FAMILIES
THE LATEST IN PATIENT COMFORT
A cartoon or movie playing on the ceiling-mounted television can help distract young patients during a procedure. The nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) line is plumbed up through the floor to hide equipment that might seem scary. We have three additional pediatric dental rooms that have now increased our capacity by 150%.
SOUNDPROOFING
For children with certain special needs, even trying to take a simple X-ray can elicit frightened cries. The treatment rooms will have sound-reducing doors and walls to lessen the impact on other children and their families. The rooms have been intentionally placed as far from the waiting room as possible.
PROACTIVE INFECTION PREVENTION
Following the latest guidelines from the CDC for dental care, all our orthodontic rooms will be private.
LET THE SUNSHINE IN
In the building’s southwest corner, we are introducing four new, private orthodontic suites which will have access to natural light. Exposure to natural light has been proven to benefit patients in heath care settings.
A PLACE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS PATIENTS
The renovation creates a separate, enclosed room for orthodontic exams and procedures. The quiet space will be more soothing and less distracting for children on the autism spectrum or those with behavioral issues.
IMPROVING OUTCOMES
The Clinic has long been a leader in cleft research, thanks in large part to Director Emeritus Dr. Rusty Long, the grandson of Clinic founder Dr. H. K. Cooper. Clinic staff will continue to participate in studies that determine the most effective treatments for various craniofacial anomalies.
Our previous team space was inadequate.
The team approach—bringing all the specialists and therapists together in one place to decide the best treatment plan for each patient—has long been the Clinic’s hallmark. The modernization plan includes elements that foster the team culture to the ultimate benefit of patients.
NEW TEAM SPACES
Weekly team meetings will move to a larger, more functional, dedicated room on the lower level. On the main level, a small conference room with five workstations will provide a space for specialists to work or meet with colleagues in between patient appointments.
“VOLUNTEER” APPRECIATION
Several team members’ services are donated by other health care organizations, enabling these specialists to spend one to four days a month treating patients at the Clinic. Improved work spaces for them signal our gratitude for their commitment to our mission and our patients.
CATCHING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY
The modernization plan includes new diagnostic and treatment tools for hearing, speech, and feeding as well as upgrades to electronic medical records systems. Computers and servers will be upgraded or replaced throughout the organization, improving staff efficiency and productivity.
Honorary Committee
Gib and Marty Armstrong
Ann B. Barshinger
Philip and Patricia Frey
Bill and Kitt Gamber
Steering Committee
Sam Lombardo, Co-Chair, CEO, Benecon
Bunnie Buckwalter, Co-Chair, Real Estate Developer
James I. Alton, Consultant, Lindsley Development Consulting
John Cooper, President, Cooper Dentistry
Scott Fiore President, TriStarr Staffing
Dave Hanson CEO, Fulton Financial Advisors
Ross Kramer CEO, Listrak
Todd T. Lindsley, Principal, Lindsley Development Consulting
Rusty Long, Orthodontist and LCPC CEO Emeritus (retired)
Amanda Owens, President, Martin Owens Group
Dennis Owens, News Anchor, ABC-27 Harrisburg
Mark Richards, Lobbyist, S. R. Wodjak & Associates
Ed Carr, Executive (retired)
Communications Committee
Amanda Owens, Co-Chair President, Martin Owens Group
Dennis Owens, Co-Chair News Anchor, ABC-27 Harrisburg
Maureen Rostolsky, Co-Chair Speech Therapist, LCPC Staff (retired)
Teddie Chairsell, Community Volunteer
Kae Wagner, President, North Star Marketing
Beth Bostwick, President, Masterpiece Marketing
Rebecca Bissonnette, Administrative Assistant, Highmark
Suzanne Woodard, Social Worker, LCPC Staff
Make a pledge online, or donate now using our secure online form. You can also print and mail a pledge form by downloading one here.
For further information about ways to give, including if you wish to make a planned gift (bequest, life insurance policy, charitable distribution from an IRA, Charitable Gift Annuity) to support the campaign, please contact the Development Office at 717-394-3793 x117.
$1.2 million
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
$100,000 +
Armstrong World Industries (In Kind)
Ann B. Barshinger
Madelyn “Bunnie” Buckwalter*
The Clark Associates Charitable Foundation
Hon. Robert J. and Anita Y. Eby*
Bill and Kitt Gamber
Samuel N. and Dena M. Lombardo
Estate of Michael Nunziata
Henry Schein, Inc. (In Kind)
Dwight and Kae Wagner*
$50,000-$99,999
Meg and Peter Brubaker
Ed and Barbara Carr
Philip and Patricia Frey
The Thomas A. and Georgina T. Russo Family Foundation
The Weiss Family
$10,000-49,999
A-DEC Inc. (In Kind)
Dr. and Mrs. William R A Boben, Jr.
Frank Carano, DDS*
Clinic Staff Collective
Compass Network Group (In Kind)
Victor DaCosta and Elizabeth Prada DaCosta*
Ecore International (In Kind)
Lisa and Robert Freeman*
James and Iris Frey
Fulton Bank
The Gamber Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. David B. Hanson*
Tim and Debbie Kershner*
Larmore Scarlett LLP
Ross and Barbara Long*
Donald and Susan Mackay*
Howard Kelin and Maryann Marotta*
Martin Owens Group
Rotary Club Of Lancaster
Mace and Joyce Rothenberg
Jack and Joni Soost
Kenneth and Susan Stoudt
TriStarr
Jack Vogel
The J. William Warehime Foundation
Wayne and Cheri Work*
$1,000-$9,000
The Allen Family Foundation
Bruce and Christie Alton
Stefan Bender
Althea Ramsay Carrigan
Fred and Teddie Chairsell
F. David Foulk
Marjorie Gerhardt (in honor of Ryan and Kylie Gerhardt)
Tim and Marcia Hamilton (in memory of Al Hamilton)
Justin and Emily Herbert
Clarence and Jody Kegel
Scott and Cathryn Hill Ketterman
Ross and Krista Kramer
Sarah Wentzel and James Muiter*
Dr. John Nista
Stephan and Mary Anna Pavlos
Robert L. Schroeder
Craig and Rachel Sharnetka
Two Dudes Painting Company (In Kind)
Henry H. Ross & Son, Inc. (In Kind)
Susan Scott
Michael and Andrea Shirk
Michael and Denise Warfel
Dr. Chris Wenderoth
Chris and Suzanne Woodard
*Denotes a Clinic Board Member
Scott Fiore, President
President, Tri-Starr
David B. Hanson, CPA, CFA, Vice President
Chairman & CEO
Fulton Financial Advisors
Kae G. Wagner, Secretary
President, North Star Marketing
Timothy Kershner, Treasurer
CPA, Principal Walz Group
Madelyn (Bunnie) Buckwalter
Community Volunteer
Frank D. Carano, DDS
Dentist (retired) Carano Dental Group
Robert J. Eby, Esq.
Judge
Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas
Lisa Freeman
Comptroller, VIZpin
Howard L. Kelin, Esq.
Partner
Kegel, Kelin, Almy & Lord LLP
Donald R. Mackay, MD, FACS, FAAP
Interim Chair, Clinical Affairs
Penn State Hershey Medical Center
Department of Surgery
Ronald H. Pollock, Esq.
Attorney-at-law
Saxton & Stump
Thomas D. Samson, MD
Plastic Surgeon, Penn State Hershey Medical Center
Sarah Wentzel, DMD, MS
Orthodontist
Lancaster Orthodontic Associates, LLC
Wayne Work
Owner, Work Computer Solutions
Rusty Long, DMD, MS, PhD
Orthodontist (retired), LCPC Executive
Director Emeritus, ex officio
Elizabeth K. Prada, DMD, MPH
Executive Director
ex officio, Pediatric Dentist