Departments
Jun 2010 —
Vol. 6,
Iss. 6
Industry News
Oral Health America’s NSTEP® Supports Hearing on Tobacco Addiction and America’s Pastime
Oral Health America (OHA) participated in a congressional hearing on the use of smokeless tobacco by young people, the effects it has on oral health, and the impact of its use by professional baseball players. The hearing, “Smokeless Tobacco: Impact on the Health of our Nation’s Youth and Use in Major League Baseball,” was held by Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). Speakers included OHA’s former NSTEP® (National Spit Tobacco Education Program) Chairman, Joe Garagiola, and Gruen Von Behrens, an oral cancer survivor and member of the NSTEP speaker’s bureau. Mr. Van Behrens first started using smokeless tobacco at the age of 13 to fit in with his peers. As a high school baseball star at the age of 17, he was diagnosed with cancer and has since undergone 34 surgeries in the past 15 years. He now travels throughout the country and has shared his story with over 2 million young people, and collegiate and professional athletes.
OHA established the NSTEP program in 1994 to reduce the use of spit tobacco and help break baseball’s association with it. NSTEP reaches up to 325,000 Little League players every year with its relationship with Little League Baseball and Softball and its presence at the Little League World Series each August.
“We applaud the committee’s attention to this serious health issue today, and maintain our ongoing commitment to providing educational outreach to young baseball and softball players throughout the country,” said Beth Truett, president and CEO of Oral Health America.
For more information, visit http://www.oralhealthamerica.org.
OSAP Teams with FDI to improve Global Patient Safety standards
The Organization for Safety & Asepsis Procedures (OSAP) has partnered with the FDI World Dental Federation to conduct an official review of the WHO Patient Safety Curriculum Guide (PSCG). OSAP will also be working with the International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations (IFEDA) and other leading global organizations on the project.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Research Priority Setting Working Group on Patient Safety, tens of millions of patients worldwide suffer disabling injuries or death due to unsafe medical care every year. “OSAP is a dental safety organization and this global project on patient safety is a natural fit for the organization’s core expertise,” said Therese Long, MBA, CAE, OSAP’s executive director. “Safe dental care for people everywhere is our vision and we will do everything possible to make this a reality,” she said.
The multi-professional WHO Patient Safety Curriculum Guide was first published in 2009 to provide medical schools with guidelines for teaching patient safety, and has since been downloaded by more than 1,000 institutions in 100 countries. In growing recognition of the harms caused by healthcare, the WHO initiated a review of the Guide and invited the FDI World Dental Federation to participate as a primary partner in the project, together with the International Council of Midwives and other members of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA).
“FDI World Dental Federation is delighted to be collaborating with the World Health Organization and other leaders in the health field, such as FDI members OSAP and IFDEA, on this important work to improve patient safety,” said Dr. David Alexander, executive director of FDI World Dental Federation. “As with our pioneering efforts in the creation and distribution of the Dental Ethics Manual, the extensive review of an authoritative resource on patient safety in the dental environment fills an obvious worldwide need.”
Details of the review will be finalized during a consensus meeting at the 2010 OSAP Annual Symposium in June.
OSAP is the Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures. Founded in 1984, the non-profit association is dentistry’s premier resource for infection control and safety information. Through its publications, courses, website, and worldwide collaborations, OSAP and the tax-exempt OSAP Foundation support education, research, service, and policy development to promote safety and the control of infectious diseases in dental healthcare settings worldwide.
DANB Offers RHS and ICE Exams Together for a Cost Savings
The Dental Assisting National Board, Inc (DANB) is now offering candidates the opportunity to take the Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) examination and Infection Control (ICE) examination together during the same test administration for $220. This reduced fee represents a cost savings of $80 as compared to taking each examination during two separate administrations.
The RHS and ICE exams have no eligibility requirements, and are two of the three component examinations of the national DANB Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) examination. The third component, the General Chairside (GC) examination, does have education or work experience eligibility requirements. To earn the CDA Certification mark, a dental assistant must pass all three component examinations within a 5-year period.
“DANB is very excited to offer the RHS/ICE component examination combination at a cost savings to candidates. It is a great way for candidates who have passed the GC examination to take the RHS/ICE components and become DANB Certified,” explains Johnna Gueorguieva, director, Testing and Measurement. “Or, candidates can opt to take the RHS/ICE component exams first, and then take the GC exam once they have met the eligibility requirements.”
DANB exams are currently recognized or required in 37 states, the District of Columbia, the US Air Force, and the Veterans Administration. For more information and to download the CDA Candidate Guide with RHS and ICE applications, visit http://www.danb.org.
