OPERATION SMILE MEDICAL MISSIONS TO TAKE PLACE IN LANZHOU AND URUMQI, CHINA, FROM AUGUST 7-17, 2007

Two Operation Smile Medical Mission teams will work with their Chinese counterparts at mission sties in Lanzhou and Urumqi, China from August 7-17, 2007 to assist children born with facial deformities.  The teams each consist of more than 40 medical and non-medical volunteers from Australia, Canada, China, India, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, United States, and Vietnam.  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. 

Who: Operation Smile International Mission Teams each comprised of 35-40 credentialed medical professionals from eight countries:
Dr. Han Kai, plastic surgeon and Operation Smile Medical Mission in China Medical Director
Dr. David Chong, plastic surgeon from Australia
Charlotte Ducoté, PhD, speech pathologist from Louisiana
Beth Nielsen, RN, operating room nurse from Illinois
Cynthia Raglin, RN, clinical coordinator from Virginia

When:  August 7-17, 2007

Where:  The First Hospital of Lanzhou University – Lanzhou, China
No. 5 Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical College – Urumqi, China

This is the fifth Operation Smile international medical mission to Lanzhou, and the second to Urumqi. The first medical mission to China took place in 1991, and since then, Operation Smile medical volunteers have provided free medical evaluations to more than 10,000 children suffering with facial deformities and more than 6,000 have received free reconstructive surgery.

One Operation Smile team will be in Lanzhou at The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, and consists of plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, a pediatric intensivist, a dentist, speech therapist and others, from Canada, China, India, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Vietnam, and the United States.
 
The other Operation Smile team will be in Urumqi at No. 5 Affiliated Hospital to Xinjiang Medical College, and consists of plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, a pediatrician, a dentist, speech therapist and others, from Australia, China and the United States.

China is one of the partner countries participating during Operation Smile’s 25th anniversary year.  Operation Smile will commemorate its 25th Anniversary with a year-long, multi-faceted series of initiatives to include the following:

• 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 openings in Vietnam, Colombia and India, Operation Smile will open additional Comprehensive Care Centers in Honduras, Morocco, China, 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. 
  
• World Journey of Smiles – The year-long anniversary celebration will culminate in November 2007, with the World Journey of Smiles, 40 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.

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org)
Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults.  Since its founding, Operation Smile has treated more than 100,000 children with facial deformities and provided education and training to physicians and other healthcare professionals around the world.  In addition to contributing free medical treatment for children born with facial deformities, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its 25 partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.  Partners include: 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.  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.