2018 PDA Public Service Award
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE (CVIM)
was founded in 1998 in Chester County, as the first community-
based volunteer clinic of its kind in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The clinic has expanded and evolved over the years, but
CVIM’s vital mission has remained the same, to provide
“compassionate primary medical and dental care and health
education to people who live or work in the Chester County
region who lack access to insurance, in order to support their
goals to lead productive, healthy, and hopeful lives.”
CVIM has continued to do that with the help of a vast army
of volunteers and donors, providing a tremendous safety net
to thousands of people. For the last 20 years CVIM has been
supported entirely through philanthropy, starting back with
funding from Paoli Hospital Women’s Auxiliary in the 1990s.
The clinic is located in a converted and renovated warehouse
in West Chester and is open five days and one evening a
week. CVIM maintains seven dental operatories, 10 medical
exam rooms and the Moran Family Conference Center for
patient education and wellness programs.
In 2015 CVIM launched its Mobile Dental Program, which
expanded access to its services, emphasizing exams and
oral health education at its satellite locations. In 2017, CVIM
provided $6.9 million of care to the community, with close
to 4,000 patients receiving care, education and medication
during 41, 416 visits. In addition to the generous private
funding from individuals, foundations, corporations and
faith-based organizations, this effort was made possible by
more than 400 licensed clinical and support volunteers, who
donated more than 54,000 hours of their time and services.
It is fitting that in the year CVIM is celebrating its 20th
anniversary of providing health care, hope and healing to
the uninsured of Chester County, CVIM is being honored
with PDA’s 2018 Public Service Award.
2018 PDA Recognition Award
Dr. Thomas P. Sollecito has made great contributions to the
art and science of dentistry with his important work as an
educator, author and researcher.
An educator for the past 25 years, Dr. Sollecito has focused
on numerous areas, including TMD, oral mucosal diseases,
head and neck tumors/cancer, HIV dental treatment and
Diabetic type 2 children. Since 1991, Dr. Sollecito has
authored five books and authored or co-authored more than
120 articles, abstracts and reports. Throughout his education
and research he has provided research support for 31 grants.
A 1989 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr.
Sollecito’s career as an educator began at Temple University,
where he was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine,
and continued with several positions at Penn Dental and the
University of North Carolina, progressing to today where he
is a professor and specialist in Oral Medicine at Penn Dental
and the Perelman School of Medicine, Clinical Professor at the
Medical College of Georgia, and has consulting positions at
the National Naval Center and the University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Sollecito has been honored with a multitude of awards,
such as the 2009 Distinguished Service Award from the
Alumni Society at the University of Pennsylvania School
DR. THOMAS P.
SOLLECITO
of Dental Medicine, and in 2014 he won the International
College of Dentists/American Association of Dental Editors
and Journalists’ Golden Pen Award for Dental Journalism.
In a nominating letter from the Second District Valley Forge
Dental Association, Dr. Joel Funari, president, said that,
“As a Pennsylvania educator, Dr. Sollecito’s contributions
to the dental profession have had a huge impact on the
next generation of dental leaders as he has laid a very solid
foundation for the future.”
PDA is delighted to name Dr. Sollecito as the 2018 PDA
Recognition Award winner.
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