Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner
PDHA’s Mission in Action!
Submitted by: Bonnie Fowler

For the past two legislative sessions, PDHA has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the grave discrepancies in access to adequate preventive dental health care throughout the Commonwealth – both the causes and the consequences. Led by the members of the Governmental Relations Council, the entire organization mobilized to call for action. Pennsylvania’s response was Senate Bill 455.

SB455 amended Pennsylvania’s Dental Law to provide greater access to care for nursing home residents, school children, Pennsylvanians living in rural areas, poor families, and all those receiving their dental health care in a public health setting. This bill authorizes dental hygienists – Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioners – to practice to the fullest extent of their education, their expertise, and their licensure. On July 29, 2007, Governor Ed Rendell signed SB455 into law. Attending the Philadelphia signing, and representing all those members and associates whose dedication and determination made PDHA’s legislative goal a reality, were: Judy Ernst, RDH, PDHA President, Jaclyn Gleber, RDH, PhD, PDHA President-Elect, Judy Gelinas, RDH, BS, PDHA Past-President, Joan Gluch, RDH, PhD, Community Dental Program, University of Pennsylvania Dental School, Alberta Landis, RDH, MS, Director of Community Volunteers in Medicine, West Chester, Jenny Sheaffer, RDH, MS, Director, Montgomery County Community College Dental Hygiene Program, and Lynette Bertino, RDA, BS.

The story behind this successful outcome is a case study in effective advocacy: clear strategic planning, experienced leadership in organizing a solid grass-roots constituency, the guidance of a lobbyist with access and credibility in both houses of the state legislature, high quality educational materials, bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate, and the endorsement of the Governor.

Like all truly useful case studies, the development and enactment of the Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioner bill offers a number of opportunities to assess and learn from struggle – such as the:

• close of the 2006 legislative session without action on the bill (and the subsequent need to have it re-introduced in 2007)
• need to develop and present compelling testimony for a series of public hearings, and
• skilled negotiations with the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) and key legislators in order to address the concerns of all parties while assuring the integrity of the bill.

The process of moving the bill from its inception to its enactment also afforded PDHA a number of opportunities to make visible the profession of dental hygiene: when dental hygiene students and professionals filled the Capitol rotunda with their voices demanding increased access “NOW!”;
when sponsors of the bill from both House and Senate spoke eloquently of the real needs of real Pennsylvanians for access to preventive dental health care services; and when every member of the House and Senate received PDHA information packets and personal requests for their support of the bills. And this happened twice (on Lobby Day 2006 and 2007).

The outcome - unanimous passage of Senate Bill 455!

On November 29, 2007, PDHA recognized Senator Pat Vance (R-31), the primary sponsor of SB455, who responded so vigorously to PDHA’s request for her partnership. Special recognition is also due to Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton), Representatives Steve Nickol (R-Adams/York) and Louise Bishop (D-Philadelphia), Rosemarie Greco, Director of the Governor’s Office of Healthcare Reform, and Morgan Plant, PDHA Governmental Relations Consultant. To them, and to every single person who participated in this effort, PDHA expresses its heartfelt appreciation for affirming the vision of this organization and the empowering nature of the dental hygiene profession.