All Hands on Deck!
A dental hygiene board is best placed to regulate
the dental hygiene profession
The House ED&A licensing subcommittee will meet for a third and final time on Tuesday to consider an amendment that will put a new dental hygiene board under the Allied Health Professionals statute.
Tuesday, February 16th, at 9:00 a.m.
The full ED&A Committee will meet at 10:30 the same day to vote on the bill.
The subcommittee amendment would add dental hygiene to the New Hampshire Office of Licensed Allied Health Professionals along with: athletic trainers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory care practitioners, speech-language pathologists, and recreational therapists.
The NH Dental Hygienists' Association supports the amendment to our bill -
it will give hygienists self-regulation without creating a new state bureaucracy or adding costs. The Allied Health Professionals office is in the same building as the Board of Dental Examiners and is administered by a former Board of Dental Examiners staff person - so we would expect a smooth transition.
However, the Board of Dental Examiners and the NH Dental Society continue to oppose a separate board for hygienists and are pushing for House ED&A to send HB 1593 to interim study or to ITL it. Your voice is needed this weekend!
We would like to see something done this year. We have looked at this and other access to care issues for years and do NOT want this sent to study.
· HB 1593 proposes independent regulation, not independent practice. They are NOT the same thing.
· The Allied Health Professionals amendment won't change NHDHA's goal of independent regulation - it will just locate the dental hygiene board under an administrative umbrella that we think makes good business sense. The current board of dental examiners has opposed consolidation even though in these fiscal times, governmental efficiency is imperative.
· It is time to stop Just Saying No - policymakers need to do something proactive to improve access to dental health care in NH
Self-regulation is well established and is a trend that is sweeping the nation:
17 states have some form of self-regulation and have been successfully initiated for well over a decade.
In 2010 there are 27 bills pending that involve self regulation in the following states: AS, HI, IL, KY, MA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VT and WA.
It's time for action!
Will you make calls to your legislators this weekend?
Pilotte, Maurice Manchester 603-623-8173
McMahon, Patricia North Sutton 603-927-4705
Beck, Catriona Bennington 603-588-3053
Day, Russell Goffstown 603-497-3672
Ryder, Donald Hollis 603-465-2706
Jeudy, Jean Manchester 603-645-5290
Sullivan, Daniel Manchester 603-627-5044
Flurey, Joan Manchester 603-624-0525
Reagan, John Deerfield 603-463-3009
McGuire, Carol Epsom 603-782-4918
Vita, Carol Middleton 603-755-9955
Schmidt, Peter Dover 603-743-3751
Petterson, Don Brentwood 603-772-4519
Hawkins, Ken Bedford 603-472-8270
Gould, Kenneth Derry 603-432-9189
Pratt, Calvin Goffstown 603-497-4337
Scamman, Stella Stratham 603-772-3062
Any support you can provide for the advancement of YOUR profession to help pass HB 1593 will be most appreciated.
True Professional Status under One Mission with One Voice
Susanne Kuehl RDH, BS
NHDHA President
