The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP), advocate for The Safest Dental Visit, has announced that L. Clifford McDonald, MD, FACP, FSHEA, has been named to the Friends of OSAP. The Friends of OSAP is a highly selective group of experts who focus on outreach to domestic and global public health communities. Honorary appointees come from diverse backgrounds but are leaders in their fields and help OSAP integrate dental infection control and safety messages into broader-based health initiatives worldwide.
Dr. McDonald was OSAP’s 2015 Dr. John S. Zapp memorial lecturer at the organization’s annual conference in late May. Dr. McDonald is the senior advisor for science and integrity in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is the author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. His main focus is epidemiology and prevention of health care-associated infections, especially Clostridium difficile infections, and the prevention of antimicrobial resistance. Dr. McDonald recently presented a speech on emerging diseases and antimicrobial resistance at OSAP’s annual symposium when he delivered the 2015 Dr. John S. Zapp Memorial Lecture on May 29.
Another friend of OSAP, Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, was recently named a Regents Professor by the University Of Minnesota Board Of Regents. The designation is the highest honor given to faculty by the University. In bestowing the honor, the University called Osterholm a pioneer and leader in the research and prevention and control of infectious diseases throughout the world. Dr. Osterholm delivered the 2014 Zapp Memorial Lecture.
The goal of the Friends of OSAP is to foster inter-professional and interdisciplinary dialogue about infection control and safety issues and to serve as a source for collaborative initiatives that sustain and advance safety and health worldwide. Examples of these efforts include the adoption of OSAP’s “Travelers’ Guide for Safe Dental Care” by Health Canada for its French- and English-speaking communities, and the annual Dr. John S. Zapp Memorial Lecture, which extends the reach of the annual OSAP symposium to other audiences.
