Westchester Institute for Human Development partners with Touro College of Dental Medicine in Valhalla, NY for "Family Teams" Training

February 25, 2020

Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) developed and coordinated a training on "Caring for Patients with Disabilities", for third year dental school students, from the Touro College of Dental Medicine, on the campus of New York Medical College, in Valhalla, NY.

Eight "family teams" comprised of parents and their teens/young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities or other special healthcare needs, participated in the training at New York Medical College. The "family teams" met with dental school faculty-facilitators while the dental students attended a large group presentation by Karen Edwards, MD, MPH on (Caring for Patients with Disabilities).

Next, the "family teams" and their faculty facilitators went to their assigned classrooms where they presented to break-out groups of dental students on topics including: suggestions for optimizing the care for patients with disabilities; describing the challenges for people with disabilities in accessing health-related services, describing the effect of the disability on the patient/family health and wellness, and experiences with "person-centered" and "family-centered" healthcare decision-making or planning.

Below is a link to a segment that ran on the local Channel 5 news about the "family teams" event. Readers viewing the video must open the link on Chrome on their computers. Otherwise they can read the transcript from the segment: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/dental-training-for-special-needs-patients