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18 BY SUSAN GRIFFITH SECOND-YEAR CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY DENTAL STUDENT RELIEVED CHILDREN’S PAIN DURING VOLUNTEER TRIP WITH THE HIMALAYAN DENTAL RELIEF PROJECT IN GUATEMALA Seeing children in pain from a toothache makes Blake Rosacker, a second-year Case Western Reserve University dental student, jump into action. Recently he made a number of children feel better during a 10-day volunteer mission with the Himalayan Dental Relief Project to San Martin Jilotepeque in the Mayan highlands of Guatemala. Rosacker, from Greenwood Village, CO, was part of a 14-member group of four dentists, one hygienist and nine lay volunteers. They set up a dental clinic and camp in a local school where children were provided care and oral health education about how to keep their teeth healthy. “The most rewarding aspect about the trip was being able to work with the kids,” said Rosacker. “I found them to be so genuine, and it was great to provide a helpful service to them.” The trip provided some challenges in that Rosacker speaks only a little Spanish, but others in the group helped with the interpretation. Also periodic power outages slowed operations, but the group was able to see 336 children and provide 106 cleanings and 263 restorations and extractions in the five days they were in the village. Setting up a dental clinic in a school is not new for Rosacker, a student at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. He has visited the Cleveland’s schools as part of the dental school’s community outreach and oral health education initiative to reach thousands of school children through the Healthy Smiles Sealant Program. The Healthy Smiles program has traveling dental clinics that are set up in school cafeterias and libraries. Case Western Reserve dental students provide dental examinations, seal permanent molars and refer children to an area dentist or clinic when more extensive dental services are needed. Rosacker, who was interested in volunteering on a mission, contacted the American Dental Association, who sent him a booklet on volunteer opportunities. Through information received, he learned about the Himalayan Dental Relief Project, a nonprofit group established in 2000, to provide free dental care and oral health education to impoverished children and families of Nepal, India and selected locations in Vietnam and Guatemala. The group’s mission is to return every two years and continue care for the children seen through the project. The Himalayan Project teamed up with the local nonprofit organization Behrhorst Partners for Development that provides basic health and education services to 60 indigenous villages. Rosacker’s interest in doing a mission outside the United States was inspired by his participation in the Semester at Sea program while an undergraduate at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “We traveled throughout the Pacific, and my eyes were opened to the disparities in our world,” he said. “Since then I have wanted to go back and give more of my time and abilities to help others.” Rosacker has seen the “immense” difference that the volunteer mission can make. “Children would come in screaming in pain from an abscessed tooth, and we were able to take away their pain and keep them safe from infection,” he said. “Unfortunately, in Guatemala the children have picked up the high-sugar diet of the American culture but do not receive any of the education about oral health,” Rosacker said. What Rosacker particularly liked about the relief project was their attention to educating the community. “Every day we were there, hours of time were spent educating everyone on how to brush and the importance of oral health,” he said.
BY MARGARET MULLIGAN DR. ROBERT KALINA’S MEMORY A GIFT THAT LASTS SCHOLARSHIP ESTABLISHED IN DR. KALINA’S MEMORY Robert A. Kalina, ADL ’58, D.D.S. ’62, was a beloved dental practitioner in Willoughby, Ohio, for more than 40 years. His tragic death at age 70 in 2006 stunned his many friends, colleagues, and patients. His love of his family, patients, community, and the major Cleveland sports teams were apparent to all who knew him. And now, thanks to the efforts of his lifelong friend, Martin E. Weisblatt, ADL ’58, Dr. Kalina’s memory lives on in the newly established scholarship that bears his name. The funding of this scholarship was initiated by his sister, Jean Kalina Grod. The Robert A. Kalina Memorial Scholarship Fund will have its first award granted in May 2008 and going forward it will be awarded every other year. “Bob was a very good student, but he was not at the top of his [dental school] class,” Mr. Weisblatt explains. “He had to work his way through dental school while he was married, often working weekends and evenings. In establishing this scholarship, we wanted to assist someone in a similar situation. We are looking for someone who isn’t getting any assistance, who may not have the highest GPA at the moment, but who is someone who will grow, and hopefully become the kind of clinician that Bob turned out to be.” Candidates will be long time residents of either Lake or Cuyahoga County (Ohio) and in their first year of dental school. The award will offset the recipient’s tuition for their sophomore year. Applicants must be in average standing/rank in their respective class and demonstrate financial need, but cannot be receiving any university aid. The aspiring dentists must complete an application and write a brief essay explaining their plans for life after dental school. Dr. Kalina’s clinical competence was without question. He was an assistant clinical professor in the MetroHealth residency program. But as everyone who knew him acknowledges, “his patients were his life,” says Mr. Weisblatt. “At 70, he was still on the Lake County West (Ohio) hospital staff, taking emergency night call. Everybody in Lake County knew him. His patients came from all over the region to be seen by him.” RESPECT FROM PEERS, LOVE FROM PATIENTS In his eulogy to Dr. Kalina, David Willen, D.D.S., said, “Dr. Robert Kalina was the consummate professional. Certainly, he had earned the respect and recognition of his professional peers: Fellow of the American College of Dentists; Fellow of the International College of Dentists; a Master-level Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, and so on. These are important hallmarks of professional distinction, but I was not asked to review a resumé…instead [I will] talk about how a consummate professional applies his knowledge and skill to the care that he provides to real people, in real life. “As a practitioner of general dentistry [he] was dedicated, empathetic and gentle… For him, the contact between professional and patient was an interaction based on trust and mutual respect…for him there was no other way [to practice]. Dr. Robert Kalina in his first year at dental school. “Another dimension of Bob as a professional was [his] role in teaching and training general practice dental residents at MetroGeneral Medical Center…for the [more than] 200 men and women whom he guided over a period of 35 years, Bob Kalina was a master clinician. He didn’t just tell us—he showed us—what diagnostic and clinical excellence meant. “To his fellow practitioners,” said Dr. Willen in summary, “Bob was an unfailing resource. He freely shared his time and expertise with those who asked him for advice in professional matters. He was a valued colleague who believed that it is always a responsibility—but never a burden—to mentor and to teach.” How fitting then, that Dr. Kalina’s memory inspired a scholarship that will allow his example to continue his work of mentoring and teaching the next generation of dental practitioners. If you are interested in making a gift to this fund, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (877) 468-1436 or dentalalumni@case.edu, or return the enclosed envelope and note the Robert A. Kalina Memorial Scholarship Fund. 19
Page 1 and 2: THE ART OF DENTISTRY A PUBLICATION
Page 3 and 4: MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN Dear Friends,
Page 5 and 6: for books both here and in other co
Page 7 and 8: ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE: EDWARD FERRERI
Page 9 and 10: THE ‘WRIGHT’ STUFF—100+ YEARS
Page 11 and 12: WAZNEYS BROUGHT THE FAMILY TO CWRU
Page 13 and 14: Ultimately, these thoughts helped t
Page 15 and 16: SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE ALUMNI AS
Page 17 and 18: CLASS NOTES 1948 Willis McCune is w
Page 19: 1998 Martin Hritz and his wife, Dol
Page 23 and 24: PRECEPTOR CORNER BY MARIUS LANIAUSK
Page 25 and 26: Donald Gustovich Edward Hadaway Joo
Page 27 and 28: 2 0 0 8 A L U M N I E V E N T S Mar

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