ANNAPOLIS, MD—August 22, 2012— The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has announced its annual award recipients for outstanding achievement and commitment to its mission for the safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare.
Dr. Jennifer Harte has been awarded the Dr. James J. Crawford Award for 2012. The award, named in honor of a founding father of dental infection control, recognizes lifetime achievement in the field. Nominees 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. Harte retired in May 2012 after 20 years of service as a Colonel in the United States Air Force. She served as the military consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for Dental Infection Control for 10 years. It was her responsibility to have direct oversight of dental and medical infection control programs in the military health-care settings.
She graduated from the University of Detroit School of Dentistry, completing her residency at Medical College of Ohio, also earning a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences/Oral Biology there. Dr. Harte served as course director of the Air Force-OSAP Dental Infection Prevention Course from 2002-2012 and recently joined the Editorial Review Team for OSAP’s Infection Control in Practice publication. Harte has presented both nationally and abroad on dental infection control and published peer-reviewed articles, textbook chapters and abstracts. She is a co-author of the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003 and the text Cottone's Practical Infection Control in Dentistry.
The Dr. Milton E. Schaefer Superior Service Award, named for another legendary founding member, is awarded annually to recognize superior service to OSAP. This year’s honoree is Cheryl Wolf CDA BS. Ms. Wolf helped develop OSAP’s “If Saliva Were Red” video, led the introduction of North Carolina’s Statewide Program on Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE) to the dental profession during OSAP’s 2007 Symposium, performed with distinction as OSAP’s representative on the Dental Assisting National Board’s Infection Control Test Construction Committee, and has helped facilitate OSAP’s “Ask OSAP” initiative for 10 years.
Wolf is a Certified Dental Assistant as well as a North Carolina DA-II. She has over 32 years of teaching experience and is currently employed by Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. She has served on the Board of Trustees for the Health Center for Teens & Young Adults and for Community Health Services. She is the past President of the North Carolina Dental Assisting Educator’s Association, former advisor on Johnson & Johnson’s Infection Control Panel and a past member of North Carolina’s Department of Community College’s OSHA Policy and Procedures Committee. She has also served as a member of the OSAP Board of Directors and is a national speaker.
The Bette and Paul Schwarz Award for Volunteerism honors the innumerable contributions of its namesake couple to the OSAP Symposium. It recognizes OSAP volunteers who go over-and-above in helping the organization achieve its goals through their volunteer service. This year’s recipients are Pamela Head and Norma Rychwalski. While neither Head nor Rychwalski work in the dental profession, they are committed to OSAP’s mission. Both have taken their vacation time to volunteer at OSAP’s symposia over the last five years contributing mightily to the success of this important educational event.
About OSAP
The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention is the world’s leading membership association exclusively dedicated to preventing disease transmission and ensuring the safe delivery of oral healthcare for all. As a non-profit organization, OSAP helps dental practitioners close the gap between policy and practice. Its members include dental and other healthcare professionals, consultants, researchers and non-governmental organizations, manufacturing and distribution companies, policy makers and academia. For more information, visit www.OSAP.org.
