In 2004 “The Cumberland Cleft Clinic” was formed as a cooperative venture by a group of local medical practitioners and The Children’s League. Caring for children with hearing and speech disorders associated with clefts was a natural fit for The League. Twice a year practitioners donate their services free of charge at the orofacial clinics.
For 18 years The Cumberland Cleft Clinic, directed by Dr. Robert Carpenter and managed by The Children’s League, has provided a free specialized cleft lip / palate clinic for children birth to 21 from Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Robert Carpenter, along with the Cumberland Cleft Team, consisting of 8 local medical practitioners, provides children with free services relating to cleft lip and cleft palate. These services include surgical care of the cleft lip and palate, hearing and dental care, speech therapy and social assistance.
The Cumberland Cleft Clinic is best described in it’s mission statement “To provide services for children with cleft lip and or cleft palate by a professional team consisting of a plastic surgeon, pediatrician, ENT, nurse, dentist, orthodontist, audiologist, social worker, and a speech therapist to help each child with these special health care needs lead active lives and participate as full members of their schools and communities.”
The Cumberland Cleft Clinic is held in January and July at The Children’s League office, Willowbrook Office Complex Building, Willowbrook Road, Cumberland, MD. If you or someone you know would benefit from these services please call the League office at 301-759-5200.
Picture: L: Dr. Sarah Phipps, Dr. Jana Brown, Dr. Angela Mandell, Dr. Michael Levitas, Dr. Robert Carpenter Clinic Director, Dr. David Litman, Stephanie Shroyer, RN, Dr. Valerie Ryan, Dr. Kirsten Heavener; Dr. Gretchen Seibert.
Missing from photo Stephanie Blank, Social Worker
