DANB certificants among OSAP scholarship winners

The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has announced the winners of the 2020 Anna Nelson, CDA, RDA, MA Scholarship. 

Ms. Nelson, who passed away in 2011, is remembered as a passionate advocate for advancing dental assistants’ understanding of, and compliance with, the guidelines, regulations and best practices required to prevent and control disease transmission in dental settings.

The scholarship winners, listed below, will receive 25% off the early bird member rate for 2020 OSAP Dental Infection Control Boot Camp™ and one free year of the OSAP Premium Membership. 

Nine DANB certificants are among the 19 winners of the scholarship, three of whom — Ms. Brett, Dr. Gagliardi, and Dr. Romero — serve on the Boards of either DANB or the DALE Foundation. Below, learn more about some of the scholarship recipients who hold DANB certification.

Vicki Brett

In addition to serving as a DALE Foundation Board Trustee, Ms. Brett is the Campus Director of Academic Affairs with ECPI University. “I am honored to be chosen as a recipient of the 2020 Anna Nelson scholarship. Like Anna, I am also passionate about advancing the education and certification of the dental assisting profession,” she shares.

“Specifically, I believe it’s important to prepare students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to provide a safe environment for patients and dental staff,” Ms. Brett continues. “My students not only take DANB’s Infection Control (ICE) exam, but I also highly recommend the DANB ICE Review course available through the DALE Foundation, DANB’s affiliate.”

Lorraine (Lori) Gagliardi

Dr. Gagliardi, DALE Foundation Board President-Elect, is currently a professor and past director of the dental assisting program at Pasadena City College in California. “I’m very grateful to receive the Anna Nelson scholarship, which helped me with OSAP Boot Camp registration fees,” shares Dr. Gagliardi, who looks forward to all the networking and learning opportunities the boot camp has to offer.

Additionally, Dr. Gagliardi strives to begin the three-step OSAP-DALE Foundation Dental Infection Prevention and Control Certificate Program™ to also further her infection control knowledge. “As the DALE Foundation President-Elect and a member of OSAP, I especially understand and support dental infection prevention and control as being extremely important to public protection and awareness,” she says.

Kimberly Little

Ms. Little, a dental assisting faculty member at ECPI University, says she feels honored and appreciative to be among the scholarship recipients: “Anna Nelson believed strongly in the importance of dental education — as I do, as evidenced every day when I teach my students.

“This scholarship has inspired me to dream big, educate and elevate on a global level,” continues Ms. Little. “I feel empowered and inspired to learn more about infection control prevention — critical for ensuring a high-quality, safe and healthy treatment environment — so I can continue to give to my students.”

Denise Romero

In addition to serving as DANB Board Vice Chair, Dr. Romero works as a program director and associate professor for Pasadena City College. “I am honored to be chosen as a scholarship recipient,” she says.

“Dental infection control education is critical,” Dr. Romero adds. “Uneducated dental assistants can unknowingly spread deadly infections to their patients, themselves and the other members of the dental office. Not only will I personally benefit from the OSAP Boot Camp training as an educator, but I also will be able to share the information with my dental assisting students.”

Tania Sanchez Cortes

Ms. Sanchez Cortes, who works as a dental assistant at Metropolitan State University Dental Clinic in Minnesota, says she feels lucky to be among the scholarship recipients: “This scholarship will give me an opportunity to be better prepared to serve our patients, and to expand my knowledge in my profession.

“Dental infection control is critical for both providers and patients,” Ms. Sanchez Cortes continues. “As dental assistants, we are making a commitment to patients that we are doing everything we can to protect and take care of them.”

Staci Schory

Ms. Schory is interim director of the dental assisting program at Indiana University Fort Wayne. “As a CDA certificant who teaches infection control to new dental assisting students, I am grateful to be one of the recipients of this scholarship, and am thrilled to be attending my first OSAP Boot Camp in January 2020, thanks in part to this award,” Ms. Schory says.

She adds: “Dental infection control education is critical in preventing the transmission of disease and ensuring the safety of all patients and dental healthcare workers in the various settings where the practice of dentistry occurs.”

Mayuly Xayyaveth

Ms. Xayyaveth, a dental assistant at Cosmetic and Preventive Dentistry in Connecticut, says she is honored to have been chosen as a scholarship recipient: “It will help me gain the knowledge I need to achieve my goal of completing the OSAP-DALE Foundation educational certificate program — so far, I’ve completed step one.”

Ms. Xayyaveth also agrees with her fellow scholarship recipients that dental infection control and education are extremely important. “It is critical to use proper disinfection and sterilization methods to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination, and to keep ourselves and our patients healthy and safe from risk of exposure to various infections and bloodborne pathogens,” she emphasizes. 

About Anna Nelson

Ms. Nelson began her career as an educator at the College of the Redwoods in 1976. She moved on to City College of San Francisco in 1985, retiring in 2010 as director of the dental assisting program. 

Ms. Nelson served as a Commissioner on the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) and chaired CODA’s Dental Assistant Review Committee. She was also involved with the Colgate Oral Systemic Advisory Board and an active member of the California Association of Dental Assisting Teachers.

A lifetime member of the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) and active within the California Dental Assistants Association, Ms. Nelson also held various offices on local, state and national levels, including ADAA president.

Connect with continuing education through the DALE Foundation

As you may have heard, results of the DALE Foundation’s recently published Value of Dental Assistants to the Dental Practice research are now available. 

In addition to showing that dental assistants contribute to the dental practice in many ways, the research points to the importance of continuing education (CE) to a dental assistant’s career. Specifically, 89% of dentist, dental hygienist and dental office manager survey respondents said that CE is critical to maintaining the dental assistants’ skills.

Additionally, earning CE may be required to renew your state dental assisting license or registration and is a key component of meeting DANB’s Recertification Requirements.

Looking for CE? Consider the DALE Foundation’s online options

While there are many ways to earn dental CE credits, the DALE Foundation offers a variety of online options to meet your budget and needs.

Choose from Continuing Dental Education Articles (CDEA^®) modules on topics including dental infection control and pediatric dentistry. Or select from review courses on topics like chairside assisting, dental radiography, dental office management and infection control. In addition, the OSAP-DALE Foundation Dental Infection Prevention and Control eHandbook™ is now available in the Product Catalog.