Stanley M. Bergman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Henry Schein, Inc., the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners in the combined North American and European markets, was recognized recently for his financial support and leadership on behalf of Medical Education for South African Blacks (MESAB), by Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, Chairman of MESAB, and the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
MESAB, a not-for-profit institution founded in 1985, provides scholarship money to Black South African students seeking careers as physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and in other allied health professions. A gala fundraising dinner held recently at New York's Plaza Hotel and co-chaired by Mr. Bergman raised more than $900,000 for MESAB. Mr. Ossie Davis, the well-known actor and writer, served as master of ceremonies for the event, which recognized several business leaders in the healthcare sector, including Mr. Bergman, for their support of MESAB.
Mr. Bergman, a native of South Africa, is the past Chairman of the Distributors Section Governing Board of the American Dental Trade Association and has served on the Board of Director's of the American Fund for Dental Health. He was also a member of the Oversight Committee, Future of Dentistry Project for the American Dental Association. Mr. Bergman currently serves on the Board of Director's of the Dental Manufacturers of America, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, the Parent's Committee of New York University, the Long Island Association and on the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He was recently awarded honorary membership in the Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity in 2001.
About MESAB
MESAB is a collaborative American and South African effort to improve the health of South Africa's black majority by training black health professionals. MESAB is the largest source of private funds for students of color preparing for health care careers in South Africa. At its inception 17 years ago, MESAB was able to assist 12 black South Africans in fulfilling their dreams of obtaining a medical education. Since then, MESAB has awarded more than 5,300 scholarships to over 3,000 students, and the number of MESAB graduates exceeds 2,000.
