Dental News - Henry Schein Cares Foundation launches ‘Wearing Is Caring’ campaign

Dental Tribune USA

Wed. 21 October 2020

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MELVILLE, N.Y., USA: The Henry Schein Cares Foundation (HSCF), in partnership with The UPS Foundation, recently launched “Wearing is Caring,” a public health campaign designed to raise awareness of disparities in underserved communities, the need for social distancing, and the importance of wearing face coverings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The campaign is aligned with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) that encourages the use of face coverings in public spaces to reduce community spread.

To help promote access to health care, HSCF and The UPS Foundation will provide financial support to long-time partners — the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA), the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC), the CDC Foundation, National Urban League and others, according to a press release. Funds will provide support to critically important health care programs in communities most in need.

In addition, Henry Schein Inc. also will donate and distribute cloth face coverings to NNOHA and NAFC. The organizations will select community health clinics within COVID-19 hot spots as the recipients, helping to improve public health safety.

To help address the health disparities that have impacted communities of color, Henry Schein Inc. will also donate face coverings to local safety-net health systems and other local partners in support of CDC Foundation’s Crush COVID initiative, of which support of health equity and investing in communities disproportionately impacted by coronavirus is a key pillar, the press release said.

“The ‘Wearing is Caring’ campaign is another demonstration of Henry Schein Cares Foundation’s commitment to help advocate for public health, health equity and wellness,” said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Henry Schein Inc. “Together with non-profit organizations and valued supplier partners, the foundation can further its efforts to help support local safety net health systems, which provide essential care for those most in need.”

The face coverings will come in a variety of styles, with messages that include: Let’s Face It, Mask Up; Superheroes Wear Masks; Wearing is Caring; Mask Me About My Smile; Just Keep Smiling; and I’m Still Smiling.

“As we continue to support pandemic relief efforts, we’re bringing our understanding of the people who are most impacted into action,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer. “We’re honored to collaborate with the Henry Schein Cares Foundation on their ‘Wearing is Caring’ campaign, as our collective efforts will help expand access to care in communities where help is urgently needed.”

“Philanthropic and private sector support is critical for use alongside government funding to meet needs that arise in rapidly evolving situations where speed and flexibility are paramount to saving and protecting lives,” said Dr. Judith Monroe, president and CEO, CDC Foundation. “Henry Schein Cares Foundation’s ‘Wearing is Caring’ campaign showcases the supportive role that corporations can enhance health equity and help protect diverse communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“When the coronavirus pandemic first hit the U.S., the National Urban League sounded the alarm on racial disparities in terms of public health and economic consequences,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League. “Public-private partnerships like this are urgently needed to bring support where it is most needed. Thanks to the foundations within Henry Schein, UPS and the CDC, that support is being delivered.”

In addition to HSCF, the following organizations contributed financial support to the ‘Wearing is Caring’ campaign thus far: Bedford HealthCare; Claire Friedlander Family Foundation; Kuraray; Medicom; Crest+Oral-B; Pac-Dent Inc.; Richmond Medical & Dental; SDI; Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Fund; Shofu Dental Corp.; UPS and The UPS Foundation; VISTA Dental Products; and Verena Solutions, according to the press release.

As the campaign continues, Henry Schein and its partners will identify and work with additional organizations to further expand public awareness around health care disparities in underserved communities, the importance of oral health care, and the need for social distancing and wearing of face coverings, according to the press release.

The donated face coverings are for personal use only and are washable and reusable. The face coverings are not FDA-approved or cleared medical devices or personal protective equipment (PPE). The face masks are for use in covering the user’s nose and mouth to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from the user to others during the pandemic. They are not for use in surgical settings or where significant exposure to liquid, bodily, or other hazardous fluids may be expected; clinical settings where the infection risk level through inhalation exposure is high; or the presence of a high intensity heat source or flammable gas, the press release said.

More information is available online, at www.hscaresfoundation.org.

(Source: BUSINESS WIRE)