Operation Smile Vietnam Opens Comprehensive Care Center Reflecting Organization’s 25th Anniversary Focus on Sustainability

Operation Smile announced today that the organization will open a new Comprehensive Care Center in Hue, Vietnam, on March 30, the first of seven new centers to be opened this year in partner countries across the globe.  Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping children and young adults born with facial deformities, is focusing its 25th anniversary on sustainability, with a goal of increasing the number of children served annually through establishment of regional centers of care.  Operation Smile volunteers have medically treated more than 100,000 children to date through international medical missions and in-country local missions. The new centers are projected to help increase that number to 20,000 patients per year by 2008, as well as an estimated 400% increase to 40,000 by the year 2010. 
 
According to Operation Smile Co-founder and CEO Dr. William P. Magee Jr.:  “When we first launched Operation Smile 25 years ago, we were focused on conducting international medical missions -- bringing teams from the U.S. to developing countries to provide cleft lip and cleft palate surgery where the need was strongest.  But as time went on, we began to work with in-country local medical volunteers, providing them with the training and equipment needed to support patients after the mission was complete.  Today, more than 60% of Operation Smile patients are being treated by these in-country medical teams.  And through the launch of our new Comprehensive Care Centers, our capacity and reach will continue to grow exponentially,” he added.

The Operation Smile Comprehensive Care Center in Hue, Vietnam, will be based in the Hue Odonto-Stomatological Hospital, and will treat children year-round who suffer from cleft lips and cleft palates, as well as provide education and training to medical professionals in the region. 

Approved and supported by Thua Thien Hue People's Committee and Health Service Department, the Center is expected to provide free treatment for at least 2,000 patients and train about 1,000 medical professionals in different fields annually. Operation Smile Vietnam Board Chairman Ken Atkinson said, “We are delighted to see what was only a dream three years ago turned into reality with our first center in Hue. This center and future ones will enable us to move to our desired comprehensive care model and provide continuous surgery rather than operating under the current mission model. This will be a fantastic boost to meeting our goal of operating on every child born in Vietnam with a cleft before the age of one.”

Operation Smile commemorates its 25th Anniversary with a year-long, multi-faceted series of initiatives that highlight the organization’s demonstrated capacity:

World Journey of Smiles – The year-long anniversary celebration will culminate in November 2007, with the World Journey of Smiles, 43 simultaneous missions in 25 countries. With a goal of treating an estimated 5,000 children living with facial deformities, World Journey of Smiles will take place from November 8-16, 2007.  To prepare for that initiative, plastic surgeons and anesthesiologists from 22 of those countries recently met at Operation Smile’s world headquarters in Norfolk, Va., to set global standards of care.

Global Standards of Care –The Global Standards of Care include a rigorous credentialing process and a standardization of medical supplies and equipment that will be based on the model of care that Operation Smile has perfected in 25 years of performing cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries.  State-of-the-art equipment valued at $3.6 million will be provided to partner countries to ensure that every patient treated by Operation Smile will benefit from the same sophisticated equipment, procedures, and highly trained and credentialed medical staff, no matter where they receive care around the world. Additionally, Operation Smile is providing emergency supplies in accordance with American Heart Association guidelines for pediatric and advanced cardiac life support.

Comprehensive Care Centers – Following the opening in Hue, Vietnam, Operation Smile will open additional Comprehensive Care Centers in Colombia, Honduras, Morocco, China, India, and the Philippines.  Each Center will provide surgical treatment and post-operative follow-up for thousands of additional patients, especially those in remote areas.  The Centers will also help train medical volunteers, strengthen local development and fundraising activities and provide on-going administrative support for in-country activities.

International Forums on Medical Diplomacy – As part of its ongoing effort to create a global humanitarian network to bring healing to the world’s children, Operation Smile will host international forums on medical diplomacy. 

March Calendar of Events:
• March 1-11 – Tegucigalpa, Honduras, International Mission/Biomedical Training
• March 3-12 – Morocco, PALS/ALCS/BLS Training
• March 5-17 – Philippines, Critical Nursing Skills Training
• March 7-11 – Bangkok, Thailand, Asia Regional Conference
• March 15-23 – Santa Cruz, Bolivia, International Mission and Medical Education Conference
• March 15-23 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia, International Mission/Biomedical Training
• March 17 – Virginia Beach, Virginia, “Kids Miles for Smiles” Shamrock Marathon Event
• March 19-28 – Vietnam, Critical Nursing Skills Training
• March 19-30 – Oujda, Morocco, International Mission/Biomedical Training
• March 22-31 – Hanoi and Hue, Vietnam, Dental Missions
• March 23 – Indian Wells, California, 1st Annual Operation Smile Golf Tournament
• March 25-April 1 – Norfolk, Virginia, International Mission Coordinator Training
• March 25-April 1 – Crato-Ceara, Brazil, Local Medical Mission
• March 28-April 1 – Guavaquil, Ecuador, Local Medical Mission
• March 30 – Hue, Vietnam, Grand Opening of Comprehensive Care Center

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org)
Founded in 1982, Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults worldwide.  Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 100,000 children with facial deformities and currently works in 25 countries:  Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gaza Strip/West Bank, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. In addition to offering reconstructive surgery, Operation Smile provides education and training around the world to physicians and other health care professionals to promote long-term self-sufficiency.  Operation Smile also provides a network of resources to assist families in the U.S. with children born with facial deformities. Accessed through the Operation Smile Web site, the network includes a listing of Referral Web Sites and a Physicians Resource List.  Operation Smile has been distinguished by many prestigious awards, including the first $1 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to recognize outstanding contributions made to alleviate human suffering.

Media Notes:  To receive images, b-roll footage or additional information, or to request an interview with an Operation Smile spokesperson, please contact Lisa Jones at ljones@operationsmile.org or 757-321-3252.