Government Relations
Planning for Future Advocacy
As this is being written we are in the midst of the COVID-19 virus
and we need to concentrate all of our efforts there. As we move
further away from the virus PDA plans to return to aggressive
advocacy to benefit our members and the patients they serve.
One way to accomplish that is by deploying legislative action team
members. If we could have two PDA members per Pennsylvania
legislator we would be unstoppable in achieving our goals. If we
can create two-person teams who develop personal relationships
with their state representative and/or senator we can be the
most accomplished advocacy organization our state has ever seen.
Each team would (with PDA staff help) have regular contact with
their legislator to keep them in the loop about organized dentistry
and be a resource for the legislator. The relationship would
benefit everyone who is involved. This program has the potential
to be a true game changer for organized dentistry. Please do your
part in improving the lives of your patients, your colleagues and
yourself. The best way to predict the future is by creating it.
If you are interested in being a legislative action team member or
know of someone who would be interested please email John
Basial at [email protected].
While traditional, in-person lobbying is likely to be dormant for a
while we can all still lobby via phone or email. During the time
while we are all dealing with COVID-19 it’s a good idea to reach out
to your state legislators and thank them for their good efforts.
Thanking your legislator now is a good start. It opens the door for
a deeper relationship. Members of the General Assembly know
about their profession. They know about the issues that come
before the committees that they sit on. They know about the
issues that personally concern them. What they don’t know is the
topics that you know a lot about. You can help them learn about
why you do what you do. You can help them learn about the
challenges you face. You can help them help you overcome those
challenges. You can help them overcome the challenges they and
their constituents face. Working together we can all win.
If you don’t know who your legislator is, check https://www.legis.
state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/ and type in
your home address (where you vote) and the site will tell you the
name of your state representative, senator and member of Congress.
This time period will show us that grassroots finds a way to grow,
ofttimes, in the hardest conditions.
Did You Know: Centers for Disease
Control Infection Prevention and Control
Guidelines – Hand Hygiene and PPE
With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many guidelines will
refer to “standard precautions” or “universal precautions” that
health care providers should be taking to protect themselves
and their patients from the spread of disease. Now is a good
time to review what exactly that means.
Pennsylvania relies on the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) guidelines as the standard for infection
control in the dental office. Current regulations consider it to
be unprofessional conduct for dentists to fail to follow current
CDC guidelines or to ensure that dental auxiliary and other
supervisees follow the guidelines.
Hand Hygiene
Hand Hygiene is incredibly important in preventing the
spread of infections among patients and staff. For routine,
nonsurgical dental procedures, staff should use soap
(either plain or antimicrobial) specific for health care settings
and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. Soap and water
should be used when hands are visibly soiled. For surgical
procedures, a surgical hand scrub should be performed
before putting on sterile surgeon’s gloves.
Key Recommendations:
• Perform hand hygiene:
• When hands are visibly soiled
• After using bare hands to touch instruments, equipment,
materials and other objects likely contaminated with
bodily fluids
• Before and after treating a patient
• Before putting gloves on and immediately after
removing them
• Use soap and water when hands are visibly soiled,
otherwise an alcohol-based hand rub may be used.
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MAY/JUNE 2020 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL