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Penn State Health: Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic’s Renovations Bring Enhanced Technology and New Family-Friendly Features

Dr. Donald Mackay, center, discusses follow-up care with the parents of a newborn patient.

Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic’s Renovations Bring Enhanced Technology and New Family-Friendly Features

As a medical student, Dr. Cathy Henry knew she wanted to be a pediatrician. Then she did a rotation with pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Donald Mackay at the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic.

“It was life-changing,” Henry said. “The clinic just felt special. They really took care of patients the way we wish we could in every aspect of medicine. I knew then I had to become a pediatric plastic surgeon.”

Today, Henry is part of the pediatric surgery team at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital that performs cleft lip, palate, and other craniofacial procedures for the clinic’s patients.

Roughly 1 in 700 children are born with a cleft, which can range from a small notch on the lip or palate to a significant one-sided or bilateral cleft. Normally, the tissues that make up a baby’s lip and palate fuse together in the second and third months of pregnancy. But in babies with cleft lip and cleft palate, the fusion never takes place or occurs only partway, leaving an opening. Many clefts are diagnosed prenatally via ultrasound. Researchers believe that most cases are caused by an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In many babies, a definite cause isn’t discovered.

2021 TRANSFORMATION ADVANCES THE CLINIC’S WORK IN IMPROVING CHILDREN’S LIVES

The Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic follows between 2,000 and 2,500 patients annually. About one-third of its patients come from Lancaster County and surrounding areas, while the remaining two-thirds come from throughout Pennsylvania and other states. It’s the only craniofacial center between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The clinic’s multidisciplinary team — which includes a feeding specialist, dentist, audiologist, hearing therapist, pedodontist (pediatric dentist), and social worker, in addition to an orthodontist, speech pathologist, and the plastic surgeons — cares for all patients regardless of ability to pay.

Dr. Elizabeth Prada, pediatric dentist and executive director of the clinic, recently spearheaded a much-needed renovation of the Clinic. The newly renovated clinic opened in July 2021. Named the Sam and Dena Lombardo Pavilion it recognized Sam and Dena’s extraordinary service to clinic as well as their generous $750,000 gift that ensured the success of the $4 million development drive.

The clinic used the funds to upgrade and replace computers and servers throughout the organization, improving staff efficiency and productivity. They purchased new diagnostic and treatment tools for hearing, speech and feeding along with improvements to the office’s electronic medical records systems.

Renovations include a building-wide HEPA filtration system and negative-pressure units in every pediatric operatory and treatment space. The clinic moved also moved its main entrance from Lime Street to the rear, putting the door closer to the parking lot for convenience. Family-friendly enhancements include a play area and private rooms for conferences or mothers breastfeeding babies. Child-centered dentist offices feature ceiling-mounted televisions, hidden space for technology with the potential to frighten children. Three additional rooms increased capacity. The project also included upgrades to the orthodontic suite and team spaces.

Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic serves as the lead research facility for the Americleft Project, a multi-institutional outcomes study that will compare the clinic’s treatment protocols to those of other centers worldwide.

In addition to treating newborns and children newly diagnosed with craniofacial conditions, the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic performs pre-adoption counseling at no charge for parents who wish to adopt a child with a cleft.

For Mackay, helping children and families with clefts brings great reward. “To make an impact on these children and families is a remarkable privilege,” he said. “These kids are very inspirational and so strong. And when we can help them just a little bit, it doesn’t get any better.”

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