campaign. PADPAC and our lobbyist were
there to help me with this event.
PDJ: When you are talking with
colleagues – what are you telling them
about why it is important to join
PDA? And for those who are already
members – how do you think you can
get them to be more active in organized
dentistry?
With his office staff in his Bethlehem practice.
poll to see how our members would like
us to proceed should this topic come
before our legislators. We need to be
prepared and develop a response that is
reflective of our member’s wishes. Our
workgroups will then present their
three-year goals and we will have an open
forum for our members to bring forth
ideas for our organization.
I encourage all members and students to
attend the lunch and afternoon session
on October 26.
PDJ: Thinking about our advocacy
efforts – advocacy has always been
a strength for PDA. How will you
work to keep getting our message
out to policy makers?
DR. INCALCATERRA: We have tremendous
talent in our organization. Our lobbyist is
well known and respected with our
legislators, and many of our past leaders
are on our Government Relations
Committee. A few years ago we decided
to eliminate the Day on the Hill event
since it did not move the ball in a
significant way. Now we are holding
leadership breakfast events and dinners
On a visit to his grandparents’ village in Sicily,
Dr. Incalcaterra with his sons Adam, Dan and
Michael at the Valley of the Temples.
with key legislators. Smaller groups are
explaining our position on important
legislative initiatives and we are getting
our message out in a clear and concise
way. We have our legislators’ attention –
they know who PDA is.
“ We have our legislators’
attention — they know
who PDA is. ”
Another important aspect of advocacy is
to meet your legislators face-to-face in
their home offices. I personally met with
my state senator in his Allentown office
and my representative in his Northampton
Borough office. Having one-on-one
meetings and promoting our issues is
much more effective than a group visit in
Harrisburg. We need to get their attention
and let them know that we are their
constituents. They depend on us to
educate them about issue important to
organized dentistry – we are the experts
and they need our help in understanding
our side.
Finally, we cannot influence the legislators
without donations from our members.
PADPAC is our most influential tool and
allows us to donate to campaigns, hold
fundraisers and hold legislative breakfast/
dinner meetings. I ask every member to
donate at least $100 (more if you can) to
PADPAC so we can continue to fight for
dentistry in the state capital. $100 is just
$1.96 a week, or about 28 cents a day –
a very small price to pay. We need every
one of our members to pitch in and help in
some way. I ended up holding a fundraiser
in my home for my state senator and we
raised money for his successful re-election
DR. INCALCATERRA: Besides what I
mentioned already, we have vast resources
available to our members – from practice
management tools, mentoring programs,
practice transition assistance, our in-person
CE programs (including our Pennsylvania
Dental Meeting) and help with insurance
issues. Dentists who are considering
joining an insurance network are well
served by having the contract reviewed
before they sign, and this is a service the
PDA and ADA provide free of charge. We
also have Find A Dentist profiles on our
website, resources for NCDHM and
MOM-n-PA, New Dentist resources and
links to the ADA Success program. We just
need to do a better job of communicating
all of the benefits that are available to
our members. Our PDA Go app will make
it easier for our members and students
to access these items, and that is a huge
step forward.
“ We have vast resources
available to our members. ”
And of course we need people to serve
in leadership positions. If a member is
passionate about any particular issue, we
need them to step up and be part of the
solution with new ideas to meet our
challenges. Every member can have a
voice and we welcome their input.
I see a future that is bright for our PDA. It
is an honor and privilege to serve the
office of President this year, and I hope
others will join me in saying that they too
are #PDA Proud.
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