MESA, Ariz. (Apr. 9, 2009) – Recent reports indicate 43 percent of Arizona’s children have never seen a dentist, and 38 percent do not have dental insurance – numbers that are likely growing due to the current economic downturn.

A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) and the Arizona Dental Foundation (ADF) plan to help by bringing more than 200 underserved elementary school children from the Mesa Public School District to the ASDOH Dental Clinic in Mesa on Friday, April 17, to receive free dental care as part of Give Kids a Smile®. This is the fourth consecutive year that ASDOH and the ADF have collaborated on the event.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., ASDOH dental students and volunteer dentists will provide basic dental services to children including cleanings, fillings, and more complex procedures, all at no charge. In addition to dental care, kids will experience dental education, costumed entertainment, and organized games, including inflatables provided by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Children needing more comprehensive follow-up care will have an opportunity to receive it thanks to an upcoming fundraiser with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Money from ticket sales to a Diamondbacks game in September will help pay for children to return to the ASDOH Dental Clinic at a later date for follow-up procedures.

Give Kids a Smile® is organized and executed by ASDOH students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of ADF, who recruit volunteer dentists from the Arizona Dental Association to help provide services. According to Ginger Froncek, executive director of the ADF, the April event at ASDOH is the single largest Give Kids a Smile® program in the state in the number of children treated, value of services provided, and volunteer participation.

“Give Kids a Smile® is a way that [ASDOH dental students] can focus on an underserved population in our community and provide awareness and care to help treat the most prevalent disease process in children – cavities,” said third-year ASDOH student Erik Smith, chair of the ASDOH Give Kids a Smile® committee.

“ASDOH is delighted to again be a major sponsor of Give Kids a Smile®, providing free dental care to some of the Valley’s most vulnerable children. Our faculty and students alike thoroughly enjoy meeting and caring for these children and their families,” said ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H.

Give Kids a Smile® was established by the Greater St. Louis Dental Society in 2002 when a group of dentists set up a temporary full-service clinic that treated nearly 400 children over two days. With the support of the American Dental Association, the program has grown to approximately 1,900 locations and treatment of 480,000 children in 2008.

A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) and the Arizona Dental Foundation (ADF) provided services to more than 200 underserved elementary school children from the Mesa Public School District at the ASDOH Dental Clinic in Mesa on April 17. The children received free dental care as part of Give Kids a Smile®.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., ASDOH dental students and volunteer dentists provided basic dental services to children including cleanings, fillings, and more complex procedures, all at no charge. In addition to dental care, the kids experienced dental education, costumed entertainment, and organized games, including inflatables provided by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Cassandra L. Jones, D3

Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health student Cassandra L. Jones, D3, has joined 11 other dental students from across the country as a recipient of the 2009 ADEA/Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Preventive Dentistry Scholarship.

Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., sponsored awards for dental students at the 86th ADEA Annual Session and Exhibition in Phoenix, Ariz. The ADEA/Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. Preventive Dentistry Scholarships were presented to 12 predoctoral dental students during the Bridging the Gap Awards and Plenary.

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Travis Schamber, OMS I; President Jack Magruder; and Brian Draper, OMS II.

The Student Financial Services Award Committee selected four Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM) stduents to receive the 2008-09 Augusta T. Tueckes Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. This selection was based upon students’ involvement at KCOM and their future promise to become outstanding osteopathic physicians. Dr. Lydia Fellner set up this endowment out of gratitude to KCOM for several family members who were graduates of KCOM.

The 2008-09 recipients are Katherine Johnson, OMS III; Michelle McCormick, OMS III; Travis Schamber, OMS I; and Brian Draper, OMS II.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (Apr. 10, 2009) – After months of development, analyzing data, gathering content, and tweaking design, Communications & Marketing at A.T. Still University is debuting its newest publication – iconnect, an interactive e-news portal that brings all things ATSU together in one place.

The first of its kind at ATSU, iconnect features links to University publications, popular social networking sites, and other media outlets that feature ATSU headlines. With iconnect, students, faculty/staff, and alumni have access to the latest and greatest in University news, events, videos, and slideshows.

iconnect is not your typical e-newsletter. Instead, it’s a real-time news portal where anyone can share their views by commenting on press releases and feature stories. iconnect also interfaces with the popular microblogging service Twitter. Anyone can follow iconnect on Twitter @iconnect_atsu and keep up to date with what’s happening at our growing University.

Access iconnect at http://iconnect.atsu.edu.

United States Senator Claire McCaskill made a special trip to Kirksville, Mo., on April 8 to host one of a series of “Kitchen Table Talks” statewide. More than 200 area residents and members of the ATSU community attended the event, which was hosted by the University.

McCaskill and her staff met with local residents to address their questions and concerns and provide Missourians with the resources necessary to receive assistance from a federal agency. Problems that constituents werefacing, as well as any input that residents had on impending legislation, were documented.

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The A.T. Still University (ATSU) Committee on Aging held its fifth annual Lecture on Aging on April 3 to enhance healthcare providers’ understanding of the challenges and opportunities in treating and caring for older patients, especially in the area of falls prevention.

Keynote speaker Dorothy Baker, Ph.D., R.N., presented “From the Halls of Ivy to the Kitchen Table: Moving Evidence-Based Fall Prevention into Practice.” Dr. Baker is a research scientist and scholar at Yale University School of Medicine. She is also director of the Connecticut Collaboration for Fall Prevention and Hospital Elder Life Program projects.

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The A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Student Advocate Association (KCOM-SAA) hosted its annual Osteopathic Fun Run/Kid’s Run on April 12, in Kirksville, Mo. This wasthe 30th annual osteopathic race held by the SAA. All race proceeds benefitted the American Cancer Society.

The overall winners for the 10K race were Danny Felling, OMS IV, with a time of 36:03; and Katie Marshall, who finished in 41:30. The winners of the 5K race were Matt Hilton, OMS II, with a time of 20:52; and Ashley Smith, with a time of 23:47.

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A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS) celebrated commencement ceremonies for four online programs Saturday, March 7 at 10 a.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center.

A total of 292 graduates earned either master of science or doctoral degrees in ASHS’ Human Movement, Physician Assistant Studies, Audiology, and Physical Therapy programs.

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