Dear Alumni, Faculty, and Friends:
This biennial
report is our first using disk technology and covers the period
from July 2001 through June 2003.
This report highlights our accomplishments and gives a brief look
into our future goals. During the past year, members of the Dentistry
family including faculty, residents, students, and administrators
have been involved in a strategic planning process to chart our
future course. It is both an exciting and labor intensive process
that will help us reach our mission to improve oral health through
caring, discovery, teaching and learning.
The Dentistry vision is multi-faceted:
•
To be the premier dental postgraduate training environment for
the education of dentistry’s future academic leaders;
• To be a local and national leader of high quality oral health care
which is evidence-based with an emphasis on prevention and community
service;
• To move into the top ranking in NIDCR funding, EDD focusing on
translational research and COB on basic research;
• To develop a service/education system which is a national model
for the integration of dentistry with medicine and the health care
system.
EDUCATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
One of the first priorities identified in the strategic planning
project concerned enrollment in MPH and MS degree programs. Because
it was such a high priority, a process was immediately developed
and the resulting enrollment in the degree programs increased significantly.
We have 80 residents and international students and many are
participating in these programs. The numbers continue to increase.
We have expanded our training grant opportunities and the latest
offers a two-year Fellowship that is an interdisciplinary program
with geriatric medicine and psychiatry and includes training in
clinical care, education, research, and administration relative
to care of older adults.
Both the Oral
and Maxillofacial Surgery and the General Dentistry’s
General Practice Residency programs were fully accredited by the
American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation
(CODA). We look forward to the accreditation process for our AEGD,
orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, pediatric dentistry,
periodontology, and prosthodontic programs in 2004.
Staying abreast
of today’s
communication technology, we have created three state-of-the-art
audiovisual facilities at the
Eastman Dental Center site. These facilities are used for educational
purposes and also for diagnostic consultations with care providers
across the country.
GOALS
• To recruit and retain the highest quality residents and students
to become future oral health leaders;
•
To link the clinical training programs with Dentistry’s overall
research mission;
• To optimize the number of residents and students receiving oral
health clinical and research training;
• To encourage and enhance the interaction between GME-funded residents
in Dentistry and the Medical Center;
• To attract faculty who are well-trained in providing postdoctoral
education
• To strive for diversity in the resident and student population.
RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Expanding our research capabilities was the primary thrust of the
merger and reorganization of academic dentistry in 1977.
Over the past two years, we have focused on recruiting faculty
in both basic and translational science and this effort has been
successful. We are fortunate to have recruited a number of researchers
who are focusing on translational research in new labs located
at the Eastman Dental Center site. Research areas include oral
infectious diseases, salivary gland biology, craniofacial development,
and community-based disease prevention. A number of new grants
have been submitted and we have begun to receive awards.
Researchers at the Center for Oral Biology and the Department
of Dentistry have built a close working relationship, which has
benefited both our research efforts and the educational programs
for our residents and students.
GOALS
• To boost our national reputation as a research institution;
• To enhance translational research;
• To better integrate basic with translational and clinical research
efforts;
• To improve the overall quality and number of research-intensive
faculty.
CLINICAL SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
There has been an increase in patient visits and revenue. Our visits
are up from 120,024 in 2001 to 125,813 in 2003. The largest increase
occurred at the Clinton Crossings Faculty Practice site and in
the number of developmentally disabled surgery cases at the Strong
Memorial site.
We are pleased that the clinical programs are financially self-sufficient
so the Eastman Dental Center Foundation, Inc. endowment funds can
be allocated to education and research. This was attainable only
because of the diligent efforts of our care providers, administrators,
and patient services staff. Our patient satisfaction remains high,
which is evident by the patient retention figures.
Our community outreach efforts continue to increase as we provide
care to the underserved at over 30 urban and rural sites. The patient
visits at the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation Dental Clinic at #17
School went from 928 in 2002 to 4,408. No. 17 School, located at
158 Orchard St., is home to the highest childhood poverty rate
in the city of Rochester and the 12th highest nationwide. The patient
base at the school clinic includes children, adults, and seniors
in the community. The Downtown Dental Clinic, located in the heart
of the city, saw patient visits rise from 2,886 in 2002 to 3,162
the following year.
We are pleased to offer The Medallion Plan, a self-insured dental
insurance plan for University faculty and staff to increase the
participation in our University Dental Faculty Group (UFDG) sites
by 290 patients. As a result of this initiative and others, patient
visits at the five UDFG sites have realized an increase of 19%
with a combined total of 22,800 visits for the five sites in 2002-2003.
These numbers also include the new patients from the University
student plan we adopted several years ago that enrolls about 190
participants on an annual basis.
Efforts are underway to recruit members of the 7th District Dental
Society in a project to provide care to the underserved at the
SMILEmobiles and community treatment sites. This will help solve
our shortage of care providers as we strive to meet the needs underserved.
GOALS
• To enhance the integration of oral health care into the overall
operation of the Medical Center/ Strong Health;
• To deliver oral health services in an efficient and cost-effective
manner;
• To improve the oral health of the Rochester community;
• To develop a clinical care system that provides residents and students
the clinical experience to fulfill the educational requirements
of each program;
• To develop the UDFG into an integrated and multi-disciplinary faculty
practice group.
DEVELOPMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The past two years have shown increased alumni and friends participation
rate in giving from 12.5% to 24%. This amounted to over $227,000.
We have also raised funds for underserved populations that totaled
$130,000.
Three funds have been established in honor of Drs. Basil G. Bibby,
Gerald N. Graser, and Stanley J. Handelman. These are academic
enrichment funds that encourage foreign students to further their
education and remain in Dentistry as faculty. In addition, the
J. Daniel Subtelny Chair Fund is now processed through the URMC
Development Office and continues to grow.
There has been a tremendous amount of planning in support of the
First Dentistry All Alumni and Friends Reunion and Conference.
The event will be held in November 2003 and will be the first of
its kind to unite Dentistry alumni and friends from all over the
world. This event will offer a continuing education program and
the opportunity for Dentistry alumni and friends to renew friendships.
GOALS
• To build on the momentum generated by the alumni reunion to maintain
alumni relations activities and encourage alumni involvement and
support in our educational programs;
• To reach out to corporations and foundations to support our care
of the underserved.
As we move
forward with all our initiatives, there is still a strong focus
on George
Eastman’s legacy of providing oral
health care to Rochester’s underserved populations. We believe
that good oral health is at the core of wellness and we support
that belief through our education, research, and patient care initiatives.
This effort moves forward because of the continued support and
dedication of our entire faculty and staff. I appreciate their
professionalism and belief in the Dentistry goals.
Sincerely,
Cyril Meyerowitz, DDS, MS
Professor and Chair, Eastman Department of Dentistry
Director, Eastman Dental Center
