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Dr. Shelly Batra, a Glendale pediatric hospitalist, examines a child with a cleft palate while in Antsirabe, Madagascar. (Photo courtesy of Operation Smile)

SMILE FROM PAGE 1 Thunderbird Medical Center, has a background in volunteering but never for a medical nonprofi t organization.

“As a kid and a teenager in college I volunteered with other groups but mainly local things,” she said.

Operation Smile is the fi rst medical nonprofi t for which she has volunteered. She gave this organization a shot because she wanted to “practice medicine and do what I love to do.”

Since she started volunteering for the nonprofi t, she has been on 11 missions. Batra has traveled to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Morocco, Ghana, Madagascar, the Philippines twice, and Mexico three times.

Though Batra said while all the trips are special, her top three missions are Vietnam, Morocco and Ghana. The missions in Morocco and Ghana were very educational.

“I had the opportunity not only to learn new things myself but to teach local and international physicians how to manage the pre- and post-operative care of our cleft patients,” Batra said.

The Vietnam trip was Batra’s second mission with Operation Smile. It was dubbed a MEGA mission, one in which multiple medical teams in different cities throughout the country perform surgery on patients with a cleft condition during the same week.

“It was so amazing to watch all these people from all over the world come together for this single mission,” Batra said. “It was long, hard, tiring and hot. But the smiles were worth every single minute.”

Operation Smile is multifaceted, she said. Not only does it provide medical care to patients with cleft conditions, but it has nutrition, speech and dietary services to help its patients before and after surgery. Batra is one of the medical providers who trains future volunteers for Operation Smile.

“I will train medical residents and fellows to keep the line going,” Batra said.

Batra is a pediatric hospitalist who works with a lot of newborns.

“Sometimes we’ll get families who did not know that they were going to have a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate or any sort of craniofacial condition,” Batra said.

When this situation arises, Batra refers the patients to her Operation Smile network if the patients are unable to get their care locally.

“Having a network of people to be able to refer to is a huge asset to me. And then in turn becomes an asset to my patients,” Batra said.

Patients with cleft conditions require several follow-up appointments after surgery. Many times, the medical volunteers will stay connected with their patients. “The beautiful thing is your patients recognize you. They’ll remember you,” Batra said.

While Batra enjoys volunteering for Operation Smile, she would like to see more people doing what they love.

“If you’re thinking about doing something on a regular basis, just do it. Don’t wait. Don’t pass Go and collect $200,” Batra said. “Life’s too short to miss out on an opportunity to help others.”

September 23, 2021

Gridiron stars helping to prevent suicides

Ironwood High School wide receiver Jayden Sullivan is one of 15 high school football players who volunteered to star in PSAs during Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month fi lmed by Arizona nonprofi t Teen Lifeline and Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club. (Photo courtesy of Jayden Sullivan)

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BY DEREK MOSKAL Glendale Star Staff Writer

Ironwood High School wide receiver Jayden Sullivan has talked his friends through the hard times.

“I just want to help people,” said Sullivan, a sophomore.

Sullivan is one of 15 high school football players from 12 schools who are starring in a series of public service announcements during September, Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, fi lmed with Teen Lifeline and the Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club.

The PSAs are designed to provide a unifi ed message to teens who may be struggling with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide.

Teen Lifeline is a Phoenix-based nonprofi t with a focus on giving teens a safe space to talk about their depression and anxiety. Lifeline Clinical Director Nikki Kontz hopes these videos will have a signifi cant impact on the students who watch them.

“Our high school football players are seen as the heroes or seen as the people that bad things don’t happen to,” Kontz said. “The fact is they’re struggling with the same things that every other kid is, and this is a way for them to bring awareness to everyone.”

Teen Lifeline received nearly 35,000 calls and texts to its suicide prevention hotline in 2020, with the majority coming from Arizona adolescents ages 10 to 19.

“Collaborations with organizations like Grand Canyon State Gridiron Club and high school athletes are critical in spreading the message that there is hope and help available to teens who need it,” said Michelle Moorhead, Teen Lifeline executive director, in a statement.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the 30-year-old Teen Lifeline has received the most calls and texts from teens.

“We can see it (awareness) even on the national and international stage, the things that have occurred in these last four months with Olympians like Simone Biles talking about the importance of mental health,” Kontz said.

Participating players will be recognized during their games in September. Members of the cheer team and spirit squads will wear custom Lifeline ribbons in their hair, and coaches will sport green suicide prevention shirts.

“It has been an amazing partnership every year. To see the numbers that we’re getting on social media and how many people it’s reaching within each of the schools has been something special,” Kontz said.

The 263 Arizona middle and high schools have printed the Teen Lifeline phone number on the back of their student IDs. For more information, visit TeenLifeline.org. For help, call or text Teen Lifeline at 602-248-TEEN (8336) or 1-800-248-TEEN.

Sullivan became involved in Teen Lifeline a few months ago when the nonprofi t reached out to him.

“A couple of my friends have come to me, and I talked them through it,” he said. “They could trust me, and they needed me at that point in their life. They could trust me as a true friend.”

Sullivan said Teen Lifeline gives him the experience and guidance that he’ll need to pursue a career in the mental health fi eld. Teen Lifeline walks students through the proper technique to talk to people with suicidal thoughts.

“They have people there to help you walk through everything and learn what you need to do to help people,” he said.

Once football season ends, Sullivan will spend more time answering phone calls from struggling teens. He also intends to stay in the program throughout high school.

Ultimately, he has a general message to anyone who is going through a rough patch.

“Never give up. Pursue your dreams. There are always people out there who can help you and walk you through everything. So just never give up.”

September 23, 2021

Benevilla receives gift from Piper Trust

BY GLENDALE STAR STAFF

Benevilla received a grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust on Sept. 13 as a part of the “Now is the Moment” commemoration.

The Piper Trust gave a record $123 million to 71 Maricopa County nonprofits, like Benevilla, still navigating the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants were awarded during a series of meetings at the Piper Trust’s midtown headquarters. It was the largest single-day grant initiative in Arizona.

“Our feeling was, ‘Let’s take every penny and put it into the community,’’” Piper trustee Sharon Harper said.

“I was in tears when I received the news,” added Joanne Thomson, Benevilla president and chief executive officer.

“Our agency has worked so hard to support our community members during this pandemic, and with generous support like this, we can continue to do so.”

During this COVID-19 crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise older adults to stay home because they are at high risk of serious complications from the virus.

According to 2018 census population estimates, there are 254,000 West Valley senior residents or adults with disabilities, and many of them do not have a support network enabling them to stay independent at home.

“In the world of COVID-19, the Benevilla programs have become a lifeline for many in our community who wish for themselves or their loved ones to remain safe and healthy at home,” Thomson said.

With the grant, Benevilla can continue or enhance its program offerings, including its four Life Enrichment Programs, which provide daytime respite for family members caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, survivors of stroke, fall-related injuries, or intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Benevilla also offers free home services that provide free assisted transportation, grocery shopping and light handyman services among other services and free Caregiver Support Groups, the Family Resource Center as well as the C.A.R.E.S. Resource and Education Program.

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