Total Participants to Exceed 2,000 at 87th Annual Session in Las Vegas
Chicago–June 2, 2010–For the third consecutive year the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) has set a new attendance record for the Center for Lifelong Learning at Annual Session (CLL/AS). With total attendance expected to exceed more than 2,000 participants, ADHA’s recently revamped meeting format maintains its status as the largest national dental hygiene meeting. The meeting takes place June 23-29, at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
News Highlights
Year Three of the New Meeting Format
Now in the third year of the combined meeting format for the Center for Lifelong Learning and Annual Session, CLL at the 87th Annual Session features a variety of continuing education career tracks on the front end and the ADHA business meetings on the back end.
Center for Lifelong Learning
A full slate of continuing education courses designed around a variety of career tracks will be offered during the CLL portion of the meeting, June 23-26. The tracks have been organized to give attendees the maximum benefit for the variety settings and stages of their career. Tracks are designed as follows:
· Clinical Practice
· Education
· Public Health
· Research and Scholarship
· Professional Issues
· Students and New Hygienists
· Luncheons
For attendees who are looking to experience a variety of the available offerings, there are 28 sessions including a number of general attendee sessions tailored to fit their interests and schedules.
87th Annual Session
Following the Center for Lifelong Learning will be the 87th Annual Session, June 27-29 at Caesars Palace. The meeting will focus on the business-related activities of the association. Forums and workshops have been streamlined to be topic driven and create a more collaborative discussion environment.
Dental Hygiene Day Community Service
Kicking off the Center for Lifelong Learning at the 87th Annual Session, ADHA—in collaboration with Wrigley/Orbit—will be sponsoring “Dental Hygiene Day” an educational offering at the Dean Peterson Elementary School. On Wednesday, June 23rd, from 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Dental hygienist volunteers will teach elementary school children the importance of, and how to establish good oral health care routines. Materials and samples will be provided for the children.
Dental decay (cavities) is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting 50 percent of children by middle childhood and nearly 70 percent by late adolescence. Fortunately most oral diseases can be prevented. Education is one of the most effective tools in the fight against dental decay. It is important to teach children early on good oral health care techniques and the importance of good habits.
Legislative Chairs Workshop
On Tuesday, June 29th, state presidents and legislative chairs are invited to attend the Legislative Chairs workshop to get a comprehensive update on ADHA’s advocacy efforts and learn more about how activities at the national level can be used to further advocacy programs within states. This year the workshop will focus on the effects of national health care reform on the profession of dental hygiene. Among a variety of other things, this is the first time in history dental hygiene education programs, faculty, and students were eligible to apply for grant funding made available through the U.S. Health and Services Administration (HRSA).
Minnesota State Senator Ann Lynch, champion of legislation that established the first "mid-level" dental providers in state statute in the country, will be a guest speaker at the workshop. Senator Lynch will offer her perspective on the advocacy effort that led to the historic new law including her tips on passing major legislation at the state level, and the importance of having third-party support when dealing with sensitive legislative issues.
For information on the recent health care reform, please visit: http://www.adha.org/media/releases/03222010_Health_Care_Reform.htm.
For more information on Minnesota State Senator Ann Lynch, please visit: http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_bio.php?district=30.
For more information on any of these topics, please visit: www.adha.org.
ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of the more than 150,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit ADHA at http://www.adha.org.