SPONSORED: Henry Schein
Henry Schein’s disaster relief recovery symposiums are expert-led conferences designed to help local practitioners get up and recovering post-disaster
When a community has been hit hard by a natural disaster, one of the most difficult parts of recovery is 
knowing where to start.
To facilitate recovery efforts, Henry Schein has joined with professional associations, small business associations, government agencies, and academic institutions to host expert-led symposiums to help health care professionals restore and re-open their practices post-natural disaster. These symposiums are uniquely tailored to each community, with the aim of getting practitioners back on their feet as soon as possible.
“We work very much in partnership with a whole host of stakeholders,” said Jennifer Kim Field, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Henry Schein and Executive Director of the Henry Schein Cares Foundation. “We believe collectively you can be stronger and have a greater impact.”
For instance, in 2017 following Hurricane Harvey, Henry Schein’s “Recovery Empowerment Symposium” for the Houston, Texas area was hosted in partnership with the Texas Dental Association, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Dentistry.
In 2018, following Hurricane Michael, Henry Schein’s “Recovery Empowerment Symposium” for the Panama City Beach, Florida area was hosted in partnership with the Florida Medical Association, Emerald Coast Medical Association, Florida Veterinary Medical Association Florida Dental Association, Bay Dental Society, and Northwest District Dental Association.
Speakers at these symposiums included experts on commercial and business insurance, as well as financial, tax, employment, and government resources for businesses.
“We don’t claim to be the experts in all of those things,” said Field. “But it was important that we brought all of the players and partners together to provide the right types of resources.”
Henry Schein also invited psychologists to talk to the local community about resiliency, “because these were individuals – whether they were doctors, dentists, veterinarians – who were under a tremendous amount of stress,” said Field. “They were managing a lot, whether it was patients, or their own healthcare system.”
With each symposium, the needs for each community were different. “What we did for the symposium in Houston was very different than Panama City,” said Field. There were different agencies and associations to work beside, as well as different economies of scale.
“It’s important to understand and hear from the community on what those needs are,” said Field. “For us, it’s about how we can help as a supply chain expert, bringing together all the stakeholders, because we want the providers to get their practices and businesses up and running as fast as possible in order to provide the best clinical care to those in need.”
To view past Symposiums or for more information, visit www.henryschein.com/DisasterResponse.