by Christina Echegaray
Delta Dental of Tennessee’s charitable arm, the Smile180 Foundation, recently made a $1.075 million commitment to the Cleft and Craniofacial Program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Children’s Hospital will use the funds to establish the Delta Dental of Tennessee’s Smile180 Foundation Directorship for the Cleft and Craniofacial Program and to provide critical support as the program seeks to expand its services to care for more young patients and their families.
The commitment, announced June 12 at First Horizon Park in advance of the “Smile Power Sunday” Nashville Sounds game, expands on Delta Dental’s longstanding support of Children’s Hospital. Since 2001, Delta Dental and Smile180 have donated more than $2.3 million to Children’s Hospital and supported various fundraising events and initiatives.
“We are thankful for Delta Dental of Tennessee and the Smile180 Foundation for their continued generosity and steadfast commitment to our programs for more than two decades,” said Jeffrey Upperman, MD, surgeon-in-chief of Children’s Hospital and chair of the Department of Pediatric Surgery. “Support from organizations like Delta Dental plays an important role in our mission to expand and enhance our quality, cutting-edge patient care and enables our teams to advance health care through translational research, all with the goal to meet the complex needs of children and families. We could not do the work we do every day without our community partners.”
This program cares for patients with a wide range of facial differences and is led by Michael Golinko, MD, medical director of the Cleft and Craniofacial Program and chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, along with Jim Phillips, MD, co-director of the Cleft Lip and Palate team. The complexity of this team’s cases means that patients often stay with the program for multiple years and require care from an integrated team of specialists.
The Delta Dental Directorship, which will be filled through a rigorous nomination process, represents a mark of distinction for a highly regarded clinician. The holder of this directorship will have the resources to accelerate advances in the Cleft and Craniofacial Program.
“Dr. Golinko and his team are doing truly amazing work to restore healthy smiles and brighter futures for thousands of kids from across the region,” said Phil Wenk, DDS, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee. “We are thrilled to support this vision and the continued growth and expansion of the Cleft and Craniofacial Program.”
Of the total commitment from Delta Dental, $75,000 will ensure the Cleft and Craniofacial team has the ability to pursue high priority needs and take advantage of emerging opportunities as they arise. This could include expanding and enhancing patient care, investing in state-of-the-art technology and adding new programming so children can receive comprehensive, world-class care.
“Our goal is to expand the scope of the Cleft and Craniofacial Program, establishing it as a premier, internationally recognized program for comprehensive, family-centric cleft and craniofacial care,” said Golinko. “This extremely generous commitment from Delta Dental of Tennessee and the Smile180 Foundation builds upon the longstanding relationship between our institutions whose missions are exactly aligned. This endowment will make a tremendous impact in our ability to meet the complex needs of patients with facial differences from birth through early adulthood, advance the field through research and innovation, and moreover, attract and retain outstanding leaders in cleft and craniofacial care.”
