Loma Linda University Medical Center News
June 22, 2000
- Speech-language pathologist speaks at cleft lip and palate symposium held in Beijing
- Senior radiology engineer retires after 48 years
- 10th annual Celebration of Life held on June 4
Speech-language pathologist speaks at cleft lip and palate symposium held in Beijing
Linda D'Antonio, PhD, was honored in March with the distinction of being the only speech-language pathologist invited to speak at the First International Smile Train Cleft Lip and Palate Symposium, held March 2 to 4 in Beijing, China.
Smile Train is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching medical teams in developing countries the latest techniques in the treatment of cleft lip and palate, unlike traditional nonprofit cleft organizations that rely on sending teams of American surgeons and medical professionals to perform surgery.
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At a children's hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, Dr. D'Antonio (left) demonstrates to a speech-language pathologist how to use new instrumentation providing a child with biofeedback measuring the nasal quality of the speech. |
Dr. D'Antonio addressed the symposium on the importance of team care and speech rehabilitation in treating children with cleft lip and palate.
"Surgical repair of a cleft lip normalizes a child's appearance, but it doesn't normalize their ability to communicate," Dr. D'Antonio says. "Lots of therapy and habilitation is needed to get children with cleft palate to where they are not only normalized physically but also normalized and integrated back into society."
Because of the extensive care needed, professionals from a host of different fields participate in caring for such children here in the United States. However, because clefts are not a life-threatening condition, children in developing countries often do not undergo reconstructive surgery.
For those who do have their clefts repaired, other issues arise. For example, they may need orthodontic care to properly align their teeth. They usually also need extensive work with a speech- language pathologist in order to learn how to shape words correctly. This, says Dr. D'Antonio, is why it is so important to not only involve all of the necessary specialists in cleft care, but to put the latest treatment techniques into the hands of local health-care professionals.
A major barrier to full rehabilitation for these children is that in many developing countries surgeons do not have the training to do cleft surgery. In countries where surgeons do undertake such repairs, other services, such as speech-language pathology, are usually not available because there is no education offered in that particular specialty.
Through organizations like the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association and Smile Train, Dr. D'Antonio advocates for a team approach to cleft care and stresses the need to educate health-care professionals at the local level. In the time it takes to visit a country and perform multiple surgeries or provide speech therapy, a team of specialists can instead teach the techniques to local doctors and therapists, thereby benefiting children far into the future.
Dr. D'Antonio began her advocacy for team care in developing countries in 1988 on a trip to Nepal. Eventually, she developed a video tape to teach mothers and community-based health workers how to feed a baby with a cleft lip and/or palate. The video was distributed around the country. She also assisted in training personnel from Nepal to deliver speech-language pathology services.
In the early 1990s, as chair of the international relations committee for the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association, she helped develop the Visiting Scholar Program, which sponsors medical professionals who come from other countries to learn more about interdisciplinary cleft care. One of the first surgeons who participated returned to his native Thailand and began to develop the concept of team cleft care at his hospital. In spite of these great strides, speech-language pathologists are still only available in cities. Dr. D'Antonio and her colleagues are trying to counter this problem by developing materials that a teacher, parent or nurse could use to provide the ongoing therapy a child needs to be able to learn to communicate.
Also, by partnering with a cleft care teacher at the university in Thailand, Dr. D'Antonio has been able to ensure that future speech-language pathology students will receive the proper training.
"By focusing on teaching, I'm touching hundreds and hundreds of kids as opposed to going abroad and seeing 20 kids on my own," she says. "In the same amount of time I'm assuring that the education is there for people who can then train others."
Dr. D'Antonio hopes to continue her advocacy for team care through future projects. One project will take her to India, where she will work to acquaint speech-language pathologists and other cleft care professionals with the latest treatments and techniques for evaluating speech disorders. Dr. D'Antonio estimates that it will take approximately a three- to five-year commitment to provide the training that has been requested by her colleagues in India.
Up to this point, Dr. D'Antonio has been able to finance all of her work overseas through the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association, the Smile Train, her department and with the help of generous people who have donated supplies. This traveling has become increasingly difficult, however, and Dr. D'Antonio hopes to raise future traveling expenses through donations.
"Dr. D'Antonio exemplifies our mission to make man whole," says J. David Killeen, MD, director and CFO, Loma Linda University Surgery Medical Group. "She has been able to make a substantial contribution to the developing world's children with very little outside support. For Dr. D'Antonio's work to continue, further support is required. We encourage any interested individuals or groups to contact Dr. D'Antonio for further information concerning her projects."
Dr. D'Antonio continues to receive requests from countries worldwide to help them develop their cleft care programs.
"I'm invited to go all over," she says, "but where is the place that's ripest for a team approach? You can do something anywhere, but I think the important thing is that you only have so much energy, so picking the place where you can make the biggest difference [is important]."
Senior radiology engineer retires after 48 years
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| Mr. Nelson is thrilled to receive this electric welder, given to him by some of the physicians he has worked with through the years. |
On Thursday, June 8, friends and colleagues gathered to say goodbye to a veteran of the Medical Center.
Donovan Nelson, RT, senior engineer in radiology engineering, is retiring after working at Loma Linda for 48 years.
Mr. Nelson began working at what was then the College of Medical Evangelists in 1952 as a radiologic technologist. He eventually became chief technologist and then moved on to become a radiology service engineer, a position he has held for the last 30 years.
During his 48 years at the Medical Center, Mr. Nelson became known for his charitable work abroad. Often using his vacation, he traveled to Seventh-day Adventist mission hospitals in Africa, the Far East, Central America, and India to fix or install x-ray machines.
With his retirement may come more time to focus on a few of his hobbies--cooking, gardening, waterskiing barefoot, and playing the piano, organ, or clarinet.
10th annual Celebration of Life held on June 4
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| Sisters Carolyn Ingram, EdD (left), and Leslie Ingram Gebhardt, MA, were the featured speakers for the tenth annual Celebration of Life, held Sunday, June 4. The event, sponsored by Loma Linda University Cancer Institute, recognizes cancer survivors and their loved ones. The sisters, who have both had breast cancer, speak around the country about their experiences. They have also co-authored several books, including The Not-so-Scary Breast Cancer Book. |
Each year at Celebration of Life a nurse is honored with the Courage to Care Award for particularly dedicated service to patients with cancer. This year's award recipient is Bernadette Montenegro (right), RN, unit 9200. The award was established in memory of Don Kroetz, son of Arthur Kroetz (left), PhD (assistant professor and chairman of radiation technology), and Jan Kroetz, RN, MN (nurse manager of the neurosurgery/trauma intermediate care unit). Don Kroetz passed away in 1997 after battling cancer. |
In addition to the adult program, Celebration of Life also includes a party for children who have survived cancer and their loved ones. Heartthrob the Clown, who is becoming a regular on the Loma Linda University campus, helped entertain the children during the event. |
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Outside the University Church of Seventh-day Adventists, guests enjoyed refreshments and a fiesta theme complete with Mexican musicians Los Jaguares Del Bajio and dancers La Inquietud De Fontana. More than 520 people attended the event. |
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