The Impact Fund

IMPACT: Interprofessional Multidisciplinary Patient Assessment & Care Teams

Thank you for considering a gift to the Impact Fund. Your support will provide comprehensive, high-level care to patients who need it most, and world-class training for TUSDM students. For more information on making a gift, please contact Stephen Muzrall at 617-636-2783 or stephen.muzrall@tufts.edu.​

Delivering hope to patients with challenging health-care needs

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) has built an international reputation for excellence in education and clinical care. The Complex Case Program, at the intersection of TUSDM’s clinical and educational missions, delivers interprofessional, multidisciplinary treatment to patients with extensive dental, medical, and psychosocial needs. By focusing on the most difficult cases, our students develop the knowledge and skills to advance dental medicine and patient care around the world.

The Impact Fund: a partnership between patients, students, faculty, and donors.

The Complex Case Program provides TUSDM students with an invaluable training experience working within an interdisciplinary care team to create and implement the most effective care plans. The results, for our patients, can be life-changing. For many patients and their families, however, the cost of this treatment may be beyond their means. The Impact Fund fills the gap, providing health, hope, and transformational care.

“Some of our patients have such unique clinical issues that they’ve been told that there are no treatment options and that no one can help them. We want to make sure that Tufts is the place that can help them. The Impact Fund makes that possible.” —Dr. Gina Terenzi, Associate Professor and Director of the GPR and AEGD Programs, Department of Public Health and Community Service

Exceptional training and skill building

“Working directly on the hardest clinical cases, from intake and planning to implementation and follow-up care, is the best preparation we can give our students.” —Dr. Robert Amato, Chair of Endodontics and Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Clinical Affairs

Through the Complex Case Program, our students develop expertise they’ll need to succeed and lead in their careers. We know that collaboration and communication between health-care providers dramatically improves patient outcomes and satisfaction. Interprofessional cooperation also reduces costs and the risk of medical errors and dangerous complications.

“Collaborative education is essential in 21st century health care. By combining didactic and clinical training, we teach our students to deliver timely, comprehensive care and help them reflect on the unique contributions of each team member. They learn how to work as a coordinated team. By placing the patient’s interests at the center of care, students gain cultural competence and the ability to respond to the needs of each individual patient.” —Dr. Irina Dragan, Assistant Professor of Periodontology

Applying and sharing our unique strengths

TUSDM education comprises 15 unique specialties, all taught by leading experts, as well as state-of-the art facilities and technology. This concentration of expertise, and partnerships with hospitals and care centers like Tufts Medical Center, enables us to deliver unparalleled care. Because TUSDM draws students from around the world, our work reaches a global audience and is enriched by many diverse experiences and perspectives.

“In the past, clinicians working on the most difficult cases, or cases without precedent, have often had to piece things together on their own. Through our Complex Case Program, we develop evidence-based treatments that meet the highest scientific and clinical standards, within a world-class research university. That is an important service to the field.” —Dr. Gina Terenzi, Associate Professor and Director of the GPR and AEGD Programs, Department of Public Health and Community Service