Partnership with Grottoes of North America Helps Cleft Lip and Palate Patients

Shriners Hospitals for Children is partnering with the Humanitarian Foundation of the Grottoes of North America, a Masonic-affiliated fraternal organization, to provide its cleft lip and palate patients with financial assistance for routine dental care. 

“We are pleased to join together as two Masonic philanthropies for the common goal of helping children with cleft lip and palate,” said Ralph Semb, president and CEO of Shriners Hospitals for Children. “This partnership will help us ensure that the dental care needs of our patients are taken care of between their visits to our hospitals. We are very appreciative of the Grottoes’ assistance.” 

Grottoes of North America includes more than 15,000 members; approximately 70 percent are also members of Shriners International. The organization began its dental program for children with special needs in 1970. The program’s goal is to provide the funds needed to improve the dental health of special needs children, who are often excluded from normal childhood dental care. Any child under age 18 with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, mental retardation or organ transplant is eligible for their services.

“We’re excited about expanding our dental program to include the cleft lip and palate patients at Shriners Hospitals for Children,” said Alan Betker, chairman of the Humanitarian Foundation of the Grottoes of North America. “This is just one example of the many opportunities that exist for Masonic charities to work together for a cause.”

In 2005, in response to the needs of the thousands of children who are born each year with deformities of the upper lip and mouth, Shriners Hospitals for Children added cleft lip and palate as an official care discipline. Treating cleft lip and palate often requires several types of surgeries, including lip and palate repair, nasal reconstruction, facial work and dental procedures.

Many of the surgeries, particularly those related to the teeth and structure of the mouth, are not possible unless the patient has healthy gums and teeth. This goal can be especially hard to achieve, since cleft lip and palate patients are at a higher risk of dental diseases, such as gingivitis and periodontal disease. The treatment of these patients is therefore greatly maximized by routine visits with a pediatric dentist between their surgeries. The partnership with the Grottoes of North America will help ensure that patients receive the financial assistance when needed to make these routine visits possible.

Staff at a number of Shriners Hospitals for Children have referred special needs patients to the Grottoes of North America for years. In November 2007, the idea to create a partnership benefiting the cleft lip and palate patients at Shriners Hospitals for Children evolved into a formal agreement. Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago was selected as the pilot facility and will continue to serve as a resource as more Shriners Hospitals for Children become involved in the Grottoes’ dental program during the next year. Initial hospitals include Portland, Houston, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Springfield.

The care coordinators at Shriners Hospitals for Children will help families who may benefit from the Grottoes’ dental program. They will consult with the patient’s treatment team about the dental needs of the child, and the dentist or surgeon on the team will let the care coordinator know what surgeries may be necessary, and what dental care will be needed to help ensure the best surgical outcomes.

For more information, please contact Jane Valentine, corporate director of nursing at Shriners Hospitals for Children, at (813) 281-7171 or jvalentine@shrinenet.org.