Golisano Foundation Honors 5 URMC Employees

The Golisano Foundation presented its 2012 Leadership Awards for Exemplary Healthcare Services on Thursday to five University of Rochester Medical Center health care professionals who have demonstrated extraordinary work to improve health care and access to care for people with intellectual disabilities.

B. Thomas Golisano, founder and chairman of the Golisano Foundation and Golisano Children’s Hospital namesake, presented the awards at the 2012 Leadership Awards Luncheon at the Rochester Plaza Hotel & Conference Center.

The URMC recipients are:

Maricelle Abayon, D.M.D., M.S., Eastman Institute for Oral Health. An assistant professor and dentist at Eastman’s Howitt Urgent Dental Care, Abayon also treats people with developmental disabilities. She often sees patients in pain from cavities that could have been treated earlier if dental care had been available. Abayon joined the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Related Disorders (LEND) Fellowship program at Golisano Children’s Hospital, to help people with developmental disabilities who age out of pediatric dental practices and need care. She became the clinical director for Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Special Smiles, providing athletes dental screenings and oral hygiene education.

Lisa DeLucia, D.D.S., Eastman Institute for Oral Health. DeLucia is a dentist in private practice who treats patients with intellectual disabilities, and teaches pediatric dentistry residents at URMC’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health. DeLucia completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Fellowship and has published research about dental students’ perceptions and attitudes toward providing dental care to people with developmental disabilities. She has volunteered in Special Olympics’ Special Smiles events since she was a dental student.

Mary Kate Gedro, CO, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation. Gedro is a senior staff orthotist who specializes in working with children. She helps children with scoliosis, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, developmental delay and any medical issue that impedes children’s ability to stand or walk. Through Gedro’s involvement with pediatric patients of Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Kirch Developmental Services Center, she was recruited to train as clinical director in the Special Olympics’ Healthy Athlete’s Fit Feet screening program.

Mark Orlando, Ph.D., M.B.A., Department of Audiology. Orlando is an audiologist and director of Research and Education in Audiology for the University of Rochester Medical Center. Orlando specializes in evaluating the hearing of infants, young children and difficult-to-test populations, fitting cochlear implants, performing research to evaluate cochlear function, and mentoring and supervising the next generation of audiologists. Orlando became involved in Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Healthy Hearing program through clinical research with the organization. He has been doing hearing screenings at local and statewide Special Olympic events for several years.

Amy Pete, P.T., Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. A physical therapist, Pete specializes in working with children and families, and works in the Department of Rehabilitation, and Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Kirch Developmental Services Center and the Infant and Toddler Developmental Program. She helps children with neurological, orthopedic and developmental issues including torticollis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, scoliosis, developmental delay and orthopaedic injuries. Pete was trained as a clinical director in the Healthy Athlete’s FUNfitness program, which assesses flexibility, strength, balance and aerobic fitness, and teaches exercises.