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Scott Firestone and Frank Barnashuk to be Honored at Annual Meeting
Scott Firestone and Frank Barnashuk to be Honored at Annual Meeting
Scott Firestone, D.D.S., of Smithtown, Suffolk County, who has made a career of volunteering his time and professional services for the betterment of his fellow professionals and the public at large, will be recognized at the NYSDA House of Delegates Meeting. Dr. Firestone will receive the Jarvie-Burkhart Award, highest honor bestowed by NYSDA, during the opening session of the House on May 31. He is being recognized for “outstanding service rendered to humankind through dentistry.”
Also being recognized at the meeting is Frank Barnashuk, D.D.S., of Buffalo. Dr. Barnashuk is slated to receive the Dr. Mark J. Feldman Distinguished Service Award for “outstanding service and commitment to the New York State Dental Association. “
Dr. Firestone’s outreach efforts have included instructing dental school students and general practice residents in both academic and hospital settings; providing free care to patients referred by Donated Dental Services (Dental Lifeline Network); volunteering in over 25 missions, including state missions of mercy and Remote Area Medical Outreach Missions along the East Coast; and providing monthly dental care to adults with physical and emotional handicaps under general anesthesia at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, Long Island.
A fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Dr. Firestone provided his services to the Suffolk County Medical Examiners Dental Identification Team to help identify victims of TWA Flight 800 disaster in 1996, and he was a vital part of FEMA’s Disaster Mortuary Operations Team, leaving his practice and home for extended periods to help identify the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack.
Distinguished Service
Dr. Barnashuk has provided leadership over a long and distinguished career in organized dentistry, including as president of the Eighth District Dental Society and NYSDA Secretary-Treasurer from 2017-2023. During his term as the Association’s financial officer, the world was in the throes of a pandemic. While many companies went out of business, Dr. Barnashuk provided the expertise to keep NYSDA financially sound.
Dr. Barnashuk’s commitment to organized dentistry is further evidenced in his role as program director and clinical assistant professor at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, where he has helped mold future dentists, encouraging students to be part of the Eighth District, NYSDA and the ADA. He is active in ADPAC and EDPAC and has sat on multiple councils and committees, including the Council on Dental Education and Licensure.
