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A note from the ADHA 2007-08 President,
“Good morning. Thank you for your wonderful support and the confidence that you have placed in me. It is an honor to accept the privilege to serve you and the profession in the prestigious office of ADHA president. Let me assure you that I take our mission and new vision to heart. As I begin my presidency, you have my commitment that my energies will be directed to achieving the vision of an association that creates a community for all dental hygienists and invests in their future. Through my years as a leader in dental hygiene school, in my component and constituent, and on the ADHA Board of Trustees, I had the opportunity to ask many people what ADHA meant to them. More often than not, the answer that I received was related to our central office in Chicago. However, I want to stress to you today that ADHA is more than an office. ADHA is me, and it is all of you. The foundation of this association lies with everyone in this room as well as our friends and colleagues who could not join us today. This week, as we celebrate the new ADHA brand initiative, we need to remember that each of us is an essential part of this new identity. Look for ADHA across the country. You will see us as you browse through professional magazines. You will see our key messages at major dental hygiene and dental meetings. Virtually everywhere you look, you will find ADHA working for you: developing, empowering and supporting you. Unleashing your potential. The success of ADHA¹s brand initiative and growth depends on more than just national efforts and support. It requires a strategic change at the constituent and component levels. From Maine to California, Alaska to Florida, dental hygienists must feel welcomed and find value. This may mean getting rid of some "sacred cows" and embracing new ways of business. What is your part? Share your experiences with colleagues; let them know how being a member has enhanced your career. Share the friendships you have made and invite others into your circle. Be a positive force. We need our state and local organizations to embrace our new strategic plan, working with all stakeholders as we advance the oral health of our patients. The decision to put our patients first and embrace collaboration with dentistry to solve the many access-to-care problems our society faces is a huge turning point. While collaborative efforts continue on the national level, we need you to initiate similar efforts on our state and local levels as well. Will we always agree with what organized dentistry has to say? Probably not! But, let's keep talking and working together on those things that we do agree on: the value of prevention and better oral health for all. In the process, we can work out some of our larger issues such as workforce models and an expanded scope of practice. Let's put the focus where it belongs, on the patient and ensuring that no one ever goes without adequate oral health care. I emphasize that success cannot be achieved by working at the national level alone - we need all levels of this association involved. Once again, the true power of ADHA lies with you! During this annual session, we released the drafts for the ADHP competencies and the Standards of Clinical Dental Hygiene Practice: continuing examples of ADHA as the official voice of dental hygiene. However, this week was about much more than just drafts and paper - it was about people. These competencies and standards are being developed to improve the oral health of all populations and to assist clinicians in their daily delivery of patient care and in educating the public, health care providers and policymakers on dental hygiene practice. These programs are just an example of the many activities that we will continue to pursue as the official voice of dental hygiene. Our goal remains to move our profession forward to empower, develop and support the professional lives of each and every one of you. However, our challenges do not stop there. We will work together to create an association that provides value and touches the heart and life of each and every dental hygienist wherever she or he may be in their career, unleashing their potential. To conclude today, I want to express my sincerest thanks to our new Past President Marge Green. The reins of leadership have been passed to me, and as I work with our newly installed board of trustees and dedicated outstanding staff, ADHA is well positioned for continued success. We have a solid foundation to build upon. Again, I thank you for the privilege and honor to serve as your president. I especially look forward to meeting you personally during my district visits throughout this year, and I wish all of you many great successes. I'll see you all next year to celebrate at the 85th ADHA Annual Session in Albuquerque. “ |
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