UP Oral Surgeon Gives Patient Payments to Charity
University Park oral surgeon Robert McNeill is teaching his sons — and, he hopes, the community — to give big rather than live large. McNeill’s office will donate all patient payments received in September to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kidd’s Kids, Costa Rica Mission Challenge/Goats For God, the Texas Dental Association Smiles Foundation, and the Dallas Morning News Charities. Beneficiaries include terminally and chronically ill children and their families, disabled senior citizens, and others in need.
The program was spurred in part by the McNeill family’s recent mission trip to Costa Rica, where the photo above was shot (Nate is the blonde snuggling up to his dad’s head. David’s the one smiling in the back row).
The trip “was just absolutely phenomenal, says McNeill, “especially for kids from the Park Cities to get down there and be with other children.”
Last year, he donated all payments received for a week, and “we all had such a positive experience with our patients, referral offices and our staff that doing it again for a month seemed like a great thing to do,” McNeill said. His practice, North Texas Dental Implants, Oral & Facial Surgery, is located in Garland and Preston Center.
“He decided he could go out and buy a sports car ’cause he’s fixing to turn 40, and go that midlife crisis route,” said clinic spokeswoman Sheila Duck, “or he could do something like this and help people.”
I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this charity month a success. The mission trip to Costa Rica was definately a life changer for me and hopefully for my kids. I think it is hard to live in a bubble and try to make sure your kids see that this is not reality for most people in this world. Any other ideas on how to make sure your kids turn out to be compassionate and grounded individuals?
Yes, I have an idea: Teach them to give anonymously, for the sake of the people who need help, and without seeking public acknowledgement (much less a no-doubt “totally unrequested” tear-jerking advertisement complete with hyperlink to your business).
Bravo to Dr. Bob!!!
Wow Adam. I think you may be a little over the edge.
I wanted to write the post, Adam, and found myself spending more time on it than other (blog-sized) things I was working on yesterday. I added the link of my own volition, too. Seriously.
An anonymous gift is admirable, no doubt. But I sense Bob McNeill’s office shed light on this for the right reasons.
What I didn’t include yesterday:
1. McNeill just hosted a happy hour with other local doctors to talk them into doing the same thing, and in at least a few cases, it worked. (McNeill didn’t tell me about the happy hour. Someone else did.)
2. No dancing around it: A charity conversation is an ice breaker with patients, plenty of whom are already crazy-nervous about getting major dental work done.
McNeill explained outright that this is win-win.
3. On a more personal note: his kids helped pick the charities, and the decision to donate at all was born of a family agreement.
Wow. That does seem harsh. Thanks to the author for providing the back story. Adam has a point that it really is great to give anonymously. For a event such as this, if we get the word out it helps to make it a bigger financial success for the charities. With such a bad economy right now I know that most charities are really having a tough time. Also, as Georgia mentioned, most patients are terrified to see and oral and maxillofacial surgeon and our charity month gives us a chance to make people smile and relax a little.
Wow, someone sacrifices time and money for the benefit of others and someone behind the veil of an anonymous name on a computer decides to bash him anyway.
Kudos to Robert McNeill for making a difference.
Thank you Dr. McNeill! And ignore those who say others. We need examples like this.
say “otherwise”
Well done Dr. McNeill.
@ Adam, congratulations on all your anonymous charity work in poor countries, if people only knew how great you were!
I know the McNeill’s personally and they are wonderful people and they are doing charity work for the right reasons. They should be applauded for their gift of time and money. In addition to Bob’s work his wife is a breast surgeon who takes removing cancer and saving lives and helping others to heart.