The American Dental Trade Association announces collaboration with The Santa Fe Group to launch an initiative to develop programs to address issues in access to oral care. The two organizations are soliciting concept papers on oral care issues, including an examination of "best" management practices in dentistry, an assessment of potential roles for new types of oral care para-professionals, and targeted public information campaigns. Funding in the amount of $5,000-8,000 will be available to assist "Oral Care Access Scholars" in developing policy-focused documents based on their initial concept papers. Individuals selected to participate in the program will have the opportunity to work with senior research and industry mentors and to impact public health policy and programming.
Gary Price, President and CEO of ADTA, explains that the program is a pioneering move for the association, a step designed to help achieve its strategic goal of positively impacting oral care access through improvements in productivity and public education. "Our Board feels this program offers an outstanding opportunity for individuals to engage the best of their analytical and reflective skills, to build on their career and professional experiences, and to generate new recommendations for addressing the nation's critical oral health care access problems. We're particularly excited about the long-term prospects for bringing business, academia, the profession, and government representatives to the same table."
The Santa Fe Group is a non-profit organization which strives to enhance the public's dental health using the vehicles of policy research and analysis, leadership development, information dissemination, and the promotion of public and professional debate on critical issues. Larry Meskin, President of The Santa Fe Group, notes that the joint effort has the potential to generate creative new ways of addressing problems which have plagued the nation for many years and, equally important, to help identify and nurture emerging leaders in dentistry.
Further information about the program and application guidelines may be obtained from David O. Born, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Santa Fe Group, 223 North Guadalupe Street Suite 459, Santa Fe, NM 87501. He may be reached by phone at 505-603-0804 or via e-mail, [email protected].
