Colgate Provides $1M Gift to Support Care for Persons With Disabilities

The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (Penn Dental Medicine) has received $1 million from Colgate to help support the new Penn Dental Medicine Care Center for Persons with Disabilities and the development of the Colgate Innovation Laboratory.

Projected to open next fall, the Penn Dental Medicine Care Center for Persons with Disabilities will help advance patient care, as it is estimated to serve 10,000 patients per year. The 12-chair facility will be located in the school’s Robert Schattner Center and equipped to serve patients in wheelchairs and on gurneys. A stimulation room will accommodate patients with sensory sensitivities by providing low lighting and sound baffling to help ease patient anxiety. The center’s comprehensive educational program will also train Penn Dental Medicine students to provide safe, effective and empathetic care to patients with disabilities.

Embedded in the center is the Colgate Innovation Laboratory, where Colgate experts will work alongside Penn Dental Medicine faculty, students and researchers to assess the needs of this patient population, and develop and refine new dental products that facilitate optimal care for patients with disabilities.

From Decisions in Dentistry. May 2020;6(5):7.