Baptist Children’s Hospital Provides Free Reconstructive Surgery

Thursday October 8, 2009

Valerie Vance, RN, helps prepare Maria Hassan, age 18, for surgery at Baptist Children’s Hospital during the annual Day of Smiles event.

(Photos courtesy of Mabel Rodriguez)

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Eighteen South Florida children, teens, and young adults received free
reconstructive surgery during Baptist Children’s Hospital’s (Miami) Day of Smiles, according to a news release.

Nurse anesthetist Jennifer Bryant, CRNA, shows Yuliana Pena, age 8, the oxygen mask that will be used during reconstructive surgery to correct a lip problem.

The hospital donated its facilities and staff to perform free surgeries for children whose families could not afford to pay. Doctors, nurses, technologists, and other staff members generously gave their time and expertise to help correct cleft lips and palates, nose revisions, burns, scars, finger and toe deformities, and ear abnormalities.

Donna Copeland, RN, and Blanca Fernandez, RN, look after Mateo Londono, age 13, before he undergoes surgery to repair an ear abnormality.

Although many of the surgeries took only hours to complete, the results will be life-altering for the young patients. More than 50 healthcare providers from Baptist volunteered that day.