March 7, 2008

July 1, 2008

Greetings once again! I hope your summer is going great! I just returned from the ADHA's 85th Annual Session in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My "dental hygiene" battery has been recharged, and I am ready to tackle the busy months ahead. The continuing education was awesome and the new meeting format was well-received. Three students from OU-Weatherford attended, Randi Poff, Chelsea Jackson, and Megan Coward. Angie Dakin, ODHA President-Elect, and I were able to meet them for lunch. They had a great time. They were, of course, inspired and had a lot of great networking opportunities. They also made good use of their time and worked on their research project. The future of dental hygiene is indeed bright.

There were two dental hygiene programs recognized for having 100% ADHA faculty membership. I was proud to see Rose State College and OU-Ardmore displayed on the "big screen" at the 85th ADHA House of Delegates! Congratulations to the faculty of these programs, and thank you for the example you set.

One last exciting note about ADHA Annual Session, District IX, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico won the HYPAC Challenge! We had the most money donated and also had the highest number of individuals that donated. As our reward, District IX will be honored with a reception at the 86th ADHA Annual Session in Washington D.C.

ODHA's Annual Session will be in Tulsa this year. The dates are Friday, September 26th - Saturday, September 27th. Please plan to attend this year. Sarah Brewer has done a great job organizing this year's event. There will be nationally-know speakers presenting a number of interesting topics. Annual Session is a great place to catch-up with old friends and make new ones by networking with attendees. I, personally, love networking. I always come home with something new to present to my patients and/or co-workers. Our annual business meeting will also take place at Annual Session. If you are a member of ADHA/ODHA and are interested in serving as a delegate at our 52nd House of Delegates, please contact Angie Dakin, at dakins4@sbcglobal.net . This is your opportunity to serve your local component as their voice. Another order of business will be to elect officers for the 2008-2009 term. We will be electing new officers for the following offices: President-Elect, 1st Vice President/Membership, 2nd Vice President/Annual Session, Editor, Corresponding Secretary, ADHA Delegate, and ADHA Alternate Delegate. There are also several committees and councils that need volunteers. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact me at plaqbuster@aol.com . The only requirement is that you are a member of ADHA/ODHA. My Board is awesome and will be a great mentor to anyone interested in making the commitment!

To update you on the CDHC, it seems the program is to begin this fall as planned. The curriculum still has not been finalized. In May, the Board of Dentistry received an outline, but no final curriculum. ODHA has decided to redirect our energy and focus on advancing the profession of dental hygiene. Protecting our profession and scope of practice will always be a priority, but we will move forward in building coalitions and being more active in the community. We will take a hard look at what has been done in the past and see what changes may need to be made to make ODHA the best it can be. It has been said,"if you do what you have always done, you get what you always got". One thing you can count on is change. Change can be difficult, but sometimes it is for the best. Times and technology have changed, and if we want to function at our best, we must keep up.

As always, I welcome your input. This is your organization hygienists. We are here for you, members and non-members alike. I consider it a privilege to serve you. Thanks for the opportunity!

Respectfully Submitted,
Karen Sehorn, RDH
ODHA President
405-275-8608
plaqbuster@aol.com

Achieve regulating authority for dental hygiene in the areas of education, licensure and practice.

Promote the awareness of the dental hygiene profession.

Increase ODHA membership and involvement. Serve as the recognized authority for the profession of dental hygiene.

To improve the public's total health, the mission of the ODHA is to advance the art and science of dental hygiene by ensuring access to quality oral health care, increasing awareness of prevention, promoting the highest standards of dental hygiene education, licensure, practice and research and representing and promoting the interests of dental hygiene.

Professionals promoting total health through quality oral health care.

The purpose of this Constituent, consistent with the ADHA Code of Ethics of the Profession shall be to improve the oral health of the public; to advance the art and science of dental hygiene; to represent and protect the interests of the dental hygiene profession; to contribute to the professional development of the dental hygienist; to foster research in oral health; to provide professional communications and to conduct other activities as may be permitted by the laws of the State of Oklahoma and to carry out the purposes of this Constituent.