NEWBURGH – Continuing the momentum from the 2016 Pillars of the Community Awards Gala, Ronnee and Larry Lipman presented a check for $10,000 on behalf of Cornerstone Family Healthcare’s Every Tooth Counts Campaign – Drive for a Mobile Dental Unit. The donation pushed the campaign to nearly $200k or about 80 percent of the financial goal needed to purchase a Mobile Dental Unit. The new dental unit will serve the homeless and senior citizens, as well as provide dental screenings at schools, providing a full range of Dental Services with two complete operatory exam rooms, outfitted with state-of-the-art dental equipment and staffed by Cornerstone’s own caring personnel.
Members of the Lipman family were the driving force behind the launching of our Dental Centers back in 1995, and their support and advocacy has continued over the years with the success of the programs.
Dr. Everett S. Lipman was born on February 18, 1918 in Scranton, PA, and was raised in Spring Valley, NY. He graduated from New York University in 1939 and from Temple University College of Dentistry in 1943. Immediately upon his graduation he enlisted in the United States Army, and saw action during the last year of World War II in Europe, where he was wounded in action, receiving the Purple Heart medal as well as other battle decorations.
In 1943 he married Helen Bikales of New York City. In 1946, when he left the Army as a Captain, the Lipmans established their home and Dr. Lipmans dental practice in the City of Newburgh. Their three children were all born in Newburgh. Dr. Lipman’s practice initially included many hundreds of Newburgh school children, in his role as Dentist for the Board of Education. He retired from Dentistry in 1989, but remained active, mainly by continuing his service on the Boards of many area charities, where he was well known as a Philanthropist. He passed away in 1992. The continued support of his family to Cornerstone Family Healthcare, is a legacy of his devotion to Dentistry and the Newburgh community.
“I’m thrilled with the continuous support Cornerstone has received from the community in their efforts to expand dental services with the mobile unit,” said Larry Lipman, son of former community dentist Dr. Everett Lipman and co-chair of the campaign. “We hope to have the dental unit up and running as soon as possible to motivate people to take care of their teeth and get their screenings.”
Surveys have shown that low income children are at increased risk for oral health problems. Lack of affordable dental care is a major barrier to the receipt of timely and periodic preventive care by children. The mobile dental unit will visit schools to provide children with their dental evaluations and decrease the number of children with untreated dental caries, or permanently damaged areas in teeth that develop into tiny holes.
“The success thus far in this campaign is a testament to the generosity of people who believe community health is top priority,” said Regina McGrade, vice president of marketing and development at Cornerstone. “But we’re not there yet; we as a community need to keep pushing to support those the mobile units serve.”
“There is a working relationship between good oral health and overall health that many people don’t realize,” said Cornerstone’s Chief of Dentistry and Pillars Clinical Co-Chair Alban Burke, DDS. “Bacteria that build up on teeth make gums prone to infection, the immune system tries to fight the infection, and the gums become inflamed. This inflammation and the chemicals it releases eat away at gums and bone structure leading to gum disease and other problems within the body.”
Dr. Burke also recognizes the relationship between gum disease and diabetes. Cornerstone serves a large population of diabetics and there are continuous quality improvement projects around the disease. High blood sugar provides ideal conditions for infection to grow, including gum infections. Fortunately, managing one can help bring the other under control.
In the past year, up to 30% of uninsured emergency room visits could have been better treated in a dental office. These visits cost, on average, three times as much as a routine dental visit. Dental ER visits could be avoided all together, if patients saw a dentist on a regular basis.
For more information about Cornerstone Family Healthcare or the campaign for the mobile dental unit, visit www.cornerstonefamilyhealthcare.org
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