What was the toughest part of the past year ?
“ For me personally , the toughest part was establishing the relationships that are necessary to effectively engage staff , volunteers and other stakeholders . Building those relationships and communicating productively would require significant effort for anyone who is new to an organization , culture or community . The substantial limits on interpersonal interaction brought on by the pandemic made succeeding in that effort even more challenging . For the PDA , the toughest part may well have been the constancy with which our members were faced with problems that required us to find some way to help them negotiate those problems . For example , we ’ d no sooner put out all the info that members needed to comply with DOH guidance than we heard that DOI was going to take action against dentists who charged for PPE ( a situation PDA defused ). Things rarely got dull in the past 12 months !
Ward Blackwell , PDA Executive Director
“ The toughest part of the year for me was in the early months of the pandemic when the world , the nation and the profession were all being inundated with chaotic , conflicting information , caught up in a whirlwind of uncertainty , and yet faced with the need to act . Being in the ADA Board room with my ADA Trustee colleagues as we struggled with the Herculean task of deciding what was the best path forward to keep our professional colleagues , their team members and patients safe in the face of the still ill-defined and unprecedented viral threat was profoundly challenging . Ultimately , I believe the ADA met the challenge and steered our profession through the rough seas into calmer waters , based on the best scientific information we could muster . These same challenges faced our PDA leadership , and they met the test with fortitude , dedication and a laser-focus on what needed to be done to inform our members of best practices and best science to help our members succeed .”
Dr . Linda Himmelberger , ADA Third District Trustee
“ Dealing with the ADA recommendation to close for ‘ three weeks ’ followed by the PA Department of Health ’ s ill-advised and draconian shut down of dentistry in March 2020 , which essentially denied access to dental care for 12.8 million citizens of Pennsylvania . In my office that shut down lasted nearly 12 weeks . Financially I was able to weather this storm , but I was most concerned about the impact this would have on our newer dentists who were just starting out in their careers .”
Dr . Charles Incalcaterra , PDA President 2019-2020
“ I was lucky during the pandemic . No family or close friend suffered any of the extremes of this pandemic . The toughest part was knowing that others were not so lucky .”
Dr . James Mancini
“ Loss of individual liberties at the hands of our political decision makers . Restrictions on travel , like living in a police state .”
Dr . Michael Parenti
“ It was an amazing year as your PDA President . Never did I think that my entire year was going be affected by COVID-19 . Just the same , we did accomplish much in a pandemic for our fellow dentists . Most importantly , we provided the best practices and knowledge for practicing in a pandemic , representing all PDA dentists with the most accurate and trusted information . Despite the need to work almost entirely by Zoom , we also functioned to provide better working relationships with our Coalition partners , worked hard on Government Relations and legislative issues , got our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force up and operating , and sold our insurance arm of Bell / PDAIS to help make the PDA more financially stable . This represents just a few of our accomplishments as we worked so hard for our membership . A tough year is an understatement .”
— Dr . Jim Tauberg PDA President 2020-2021
March 26 – After consulting with organized dentistry leaders , DOH issues Revised Guidance on COVID-19 for Dental Health Care Personnel in Pennsylvania , reopening dental offices for emergencies and patients with urgent dental needs .
March 27 – The Coronavirus Aid , Relief and Economic Security ( CARES ) Act becomes law . The $ 2 trillion stimulus package included provisions important to dentists , including Small Business Administration loans , retirement account withdrawals and student loan payments and interest deferral .
MAY / JUNE 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 17