Aymme Belen

Dentist’s move to Mohawk Valley a positive experience
Aymme Belen ‘dedicated,’ energetic, colleagues say

When Aymme Belen relocated to the Utica area from Puerto Rico in 2001, some local residents ques tioned her decision.“People would ask me, ‘Why do you want to move here?’” said Belen, a 2006 Accent on Excellence winner. “This area has a lot of positive things,”

Five years later, Belen, a den tist, has her own private practice, provides care to special-needs patients, and has become a mother.

Those accomplishments are some of the most rewarding of her life, she said. Shortly after she moved to Utica, Belen began working with Upstate Cerebral Palsy in Rome. Her time there, she said, has been extremely fulfilling.“Getting hugs and kisses for what you do is the best pay you can get,” Belen said. The relationship is mutually beneficial, according to Mary Brognano, director of Upstate Cerebral Palsy, Rome campus.

“Her relationships with the patients that she serves are just out standing,” Brognano. “She’s so dedicated to the people that she serves.

“We serve a largely special- needs population and Dr. Belen is able to communicate with them one on one,” Brognano said. Belen planned on leaving United Cerebral Palsy when she started her own practice, but she couldn’t give it up, she said.“I can’t leave. I enjoy it so much there,” Belen said. “They need the services, but they also need someone that wants to give them the service.”

She still spends two Fridays a month there, she said. Belen bought the Genesee Street building in South Utica that now houses her practice in 2003, she said.“Four days after I bought the building, I found out I was pregnant,” she said. Starting a new business with an infant was tough, Belen said. The support of her husband, Bruce Gendron, CEO and president of St. Luke’s Home in New Hartford, and a 2000 Accent on Excellence honoree, made it possible, she said. Belen remodeled the entire building, and opened the doors in 2004.

Ever since, she’s been balancing motherhood with the demands of running her own business.“I think it’s going to be a challenge forever,” Belen said. Kaysi Garay was Belen’s babysitter before Belen paid for her return to school and become a dental assistant. Now Garay works along side Belen in her private practice.“Working with her has opened my eyes to so many different things,” Garay said. Belen is an inspiration to other

Hispanic women in the community, Garay said.“It’s hard for everyone, but being a minority, it’s very hard,” Garay said. “I commend her for

that.” For Belen, one of the most challenging parts of the past five years has been being away from her family in Puerto Rico Attending Spanish-language masses at Historic Old St. John’s Church on Bleecker Street, and participating in events with the Mohawk Valley Latino Association has helped her feel more at home, she said.“Going to the different activities allows me to get in touch with my roots,” she said. Belen has also fallen in love with her new home, she said. The Mohawk Valley is a warm- hearted place and a great place to raise a family, she said.