Penn Dental Medicine Celebrates New Edward & Shirley Shils Clinic

From left is Dr. Marion Bergman; Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein, Inc.; Nancy Shils, daughter of Edward and Shirley Shils; and Dr. Denis Kinane, Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean.

Philadelphia – Penn Dental Medicine celebrated the addition of the new Edward & Shirley Shils Clinic to the School’s patient care and educational resources with an official ribbon cutting, held May 12 as part of the School’s 2017 Alumni Weekend celebration.

Shirley Shils, wife of the late Dr. Edward Shils, was represented in the ribbon cutting ceremony by her daughter, Nancy Shils; the ceremony also included Dean Denis Kinane and members of the School’s Board of Overseers. Dr. Shils served on the School’s Board from 2002 to 2004 and was a leader in the dental industry, serving as Executive Director of the Dental Manufacturers of America and the Dental Dealers of America for almost 50 years. He was also a professor and Chair of the Management Department at Wharton, earning six degrees from Penn and founding the Wharton Entrepreneurial Center.

“The legacy of Edward and Shirley Shils is one of dedication to education, service, and innovation that will continue to be an inspiration to our students through this clinic,” says Dean Denis Kinane. “We also thank Henry Schein for its generosity in helping to make this clinic possible.” Henry Schein, Inc.— the world’s largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health, and medical practitioners — contributed $2.25 million in health care products and cash in support of the clinic’s construction in the name of Dr. and Mrs. Shils.

“Just one year ago, we could only imagine the clinic that would embody Ed and Shirley’s commitment to education and their drive to create opportunities for the next generation of oral health professionals,” said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein and a member of Penn Dental Medicine’s Board of Overseers. “Now, we see that vision realized. This clinic will help students refine their skills while enhancing the oral health of community members in need, and we at Henry Schein are honored to have played a small part in its creation.”

The new 55-chair clinic was part of the Evans Building Centennial Renaissance project, a $37 million renovation of the School’s historic Evans Building undertaken over the past two years. The Evans Renaissance project, recently completed, involved a transformation of all four levels of the building; the Shils Clinic was the one new clinical space created through the renovation. It is located on the first floor of the Evans Building, and along with state-of-the-art equipment throughout, the building’s original windows line two sides the space, creating a bright, welcoming environment for patients. The Shils Clinic is a general restorative teaching clinic for DMD students that will increase the School’s capacity to see more patients.

“This new facility will benefit the community we serve as well as our students’ learning experiences,” adds Dean Kinane.

Penn Dental Medicine is a major provider of dental care within the West Philadelphia community, serving approximately 53,500 patients in its teaching clinics in fiscal year 2016.