OSAP awards

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland--The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention will honor two dental professionals for their outstanding work in infection prevention and safety June 9-12 at its 2011 symposium, Bridging the Gap to a Safer Oral Healthcare Environment in Plano, Texas.To read more about OSAP, go to OSAP.Jennifer Cleveland, DDS, MPH, will receive the Dr. James J. Crawford Award, which honors one of the founding fathers of dental infection control. The award recognizes lifetime achievement in the field. To be considered for this award, nominees must have made major contributions in science, education, or public policy related to OSAP’s core competencies of dental infection control, office safety, and occupational health.Dr. Cleveland, a dental officer/epidemiologist in the Division of Oral Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has contributed to knowledge of infection control and safety since joining the CDC in 1991. She has written numerous peer-reviewed articles on infection control and has addressed audiences around the world. She has led many initiatives advancing the field, including those related to prevention of occupational blood exposures, update on TB guidance, HIV screening in dental practices, and the cooperative agreement with OSAP. She has served on the editorial review boards of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) and OSAP’s Infection Control in Practice publication.Dr. John Hunt, chief executive of the British Dental Association from 1992 to 2000, will receive the Dr. Milton Schaefer Award. This award, named after one of the founding members of OSAP, recognizes superior service to the organization for continuous contributions over time or single accomplishments. The nominees for this honor have created tangible benefits to the continuing advancement of OSAP’s mission to be dentistry’s resource for infection control and safety. Additionally, nominees must be OSAP members and may be from any of OSAP’s constituencies including health-care professionals, educators, consultants, or corporate members. Dr. Hunt was introduced to OSAP in early 2001 and elected to the OSAP Foundation board of directors later that spring. He has shared his expertise in organizational leadership with OSAP and has built bridges to dental organizations around the world in his highly professional but uniquely affable style. His membership in the organization contributed to OSAP’s credibility, and has allowed the organization to build a global reputation in infection control with the World Health Organization, FDI World Dental Federation, and others.He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by her majesty the Queen in 2000; he is a Fellow of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK, an honorary member of the American Dental Association and a life fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.For more information, visit www.OSAP.org.To comment on this subject, go to community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/.