- By 1300 SMILES
- April 26, 2018
Major dental supplier, Henry Schein Halas, was awarded with the Australian Dental Industry Association Partnership Award last month, in recognition of their support of YWAM Medical Ships work in rural areas of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The award recognises success in building cooperative partnerships within the dental industry.
Henry Schein Halas has been supporting YWAM Medical Ships’ work in PNG since 2010. Their support has included the annual provision of dental consumables and equipment for their dentistry programs – including four brand-new dental chairs for the MV YWAM PNG’s onboard clinic in partnership with Planmeca.
Henry Schein Halas’ Managing Director, Mr Mike Covey, said they are proud to be supporting YWAM Medical Ships work in PNG.
“One of our values as a company is to expand access to care for at-risk and underserved populations through the support of not-for-profit organisations.
“We’ve found YWAM to be an excellent partner in helping to achieve this. Their medical ship is able to access extremely remote areas in PNG with dental care – a nation that only has 1 dentist for every 100,000 people.
“We are grateful to receive this award – we hope that it provides an opportunity to shine a light on the wonderful work YWAM is doing in PNG,†said Mr Covey.
Over the last eight years, YWAM Medical Ships with the support of Henry Schein Halas, have provided more than 29,600 dental procedures to over 16,700 individuals in rural and remote communities in PNG. Mr Covey will be witnessing Henry Schein Halas’ support in action first hand next month when he visits the MV YWAM PNG in Central Province, PNG.
YWAM Medical Ships Managing Director, Mr Ken Mulligan, said that there are many stories of lives that been touched through their partnership with Henry Schein Halas.
“We’ve seen patients come to our dental clinic who have knocked out their own teeth because of the pain.
“To be able to provide dental care with state of the art equipment and supplies right in a remote village has been incredible.
“Many local dentists and dental workers have also been able to receive training and experience in our clinic, which has helped improve patient care in their own communities.
“We are very thankful for Henry Schein Halas’ consistent and strong support that has helped so many – I am pleased their support has been recognised through this award. We look forward to achieving much more together,†said Mr Mulligan.
Dentists, dental assistants, dental therapists and dental hygienists are invited to volunteer aboard the MV YWAM PNG for a two-week outreach in PNG. For more information or to apply, visit https://ywamships.org.au/volunteer/
