Community Interest
Lancaster Looks Up: Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic
Located at 223 North Lime Street since the mid-1980s, the clinic has undergone an extensive renovation that has doubled the number of patient treatment spaces, reducing wait times for appointments and creating an environment conducive to care and healing.
The Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic is the oldest clinic in the world devoted to the comprehensive care of children born with cleft lips and palate and other craniofacial anomalies—regardless of their ability to pay. In fact, LCPC was the first to establish an entirely new model of team care that is now embraced worldwide as the standard for cleft palate treatment.
Revitalizing an Old Space for Its Young Patients
Located at 223 North Lime Street since the mid-1980s, the clinic has undergone an extensive renovation that has doubled the number of patient treatment spaces, reducing wait times for appointments and creating an environment conducive to care and healing.
LCPC worked with RLPS interior designers to renovate their 60+ year-old building on Lime Street in downtown Lancaster. They assisted in the selection of interior and exterior finishes including paint, lighting, furniture, and fabrics as well as the acoustical Calla® ceilings which were donated by Armstrong World Industries.
Executive Director Liz Prada said, “The CDC cites cleft lip and palate as one of the most common birth defects in the United States, occurring on average to one child in every 700 live births. Children being treated for cleft palate undergo a 20-year journey of medical care and procedures, often starting at birth. Having a state-of-the-art facility that’s modern, well designed, and welcoming helps make a long, difficult process as calm and comfortable as it can be for the children and their families.”
Armstrong Calla® Ceilings are Intentionally Designed to Support Healthier, Safer Indoor Spaces
- Acoustics to ensure in-room confidentiality and room-to-room noise control so patients and physicians can hear and be heard
- Anti-microbial; soil and scratch resistant; washable
- Class A Fire Performance
- High-light reflectance to make the most of natural and supplemental light
- Sustainable and made of USDA certified 91% bio-based material with no red list chemicals
About the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic
- Founded in 1938 by local Lancaster orthodontist Dr. Herbert K. Cooper
- First independent clinic in the world dedicated exclusively to the treatment of cleft lip and palate
- Developed and employs the “team treatment” concept—the most effective way to treat patients with cleft lip and palate and craniofacial anomalies
Armstrong World Industries and the Armstrong World Industries Foundation supported the Lancaster Cleft Palate renovation with in-kind ceiling solutions throughout the building and a monetary grant.
