CHICAGO— National nonprofit Oral Health America (OHA) recently welcomed two new program mangers to head the organization's Smiles Across America® (SAA) and Wisdom Tooth Project (WTP) programs. SAA reaches over 400,000 children annually in school-based or school-linked settings, providing needed oral health care and education. WTP is OHA's older adult program, focusing on educating Americans about the importance of oral health for older adults and connecting this population with resources for adequate care.

Tina Montgomery comes to OHA from the American Dental Association, where she worked as a Program Specialist for Give Kids a Smile and National Children's Dental Health Month. She also has experience working with the American Dental Association and as Lead Project Coordinator for the Juvenile Risk Reduction Initiative for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. Tina is heading up the SAA program and focusing on NSTEP® (National Spit Tobacco Education Program) as well.

Dora Fisher, MPH, is the Program Manager for the WTP and has worked with older adult issues for most of her career. Dora previously served as a Research Specialist at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and as the Health Outreach Program Manager at the White Crane Wellness Center in Chicago.

The American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) is presenting "StressBusters -- Take the Wheel and Drive with Style," which is a free webinar, on Wednesday, July 17, 2013  at 1 PM (EST). It is approved approved for 1 CE toward AADOM's Fellowship Program. Dental office managers face many challenges and wear multiple hats on a daily basis. Juggling competing priorities and managing multiple personalities can add to the organized chaos. Dealing effectively with the 360 aspects of running a dental office can be successful and in this program you will learn practical and proven principles to control stress and worry. You will also seek to maximize your gifts and talents and how to use them to your advantage to deal with people above, beside and below you in your practice. Communication is the one key area where we intersect with people. You will walk away with an innovative, simple communication strategy to coach someone when they get off course and inspire them to embrace change. Stress is a DIS-EASE and if not controlled can knock you down and people on your team. You and your team won’t have to say, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” due to stress after this WOWinar. The course is presented by MeriKay Tillman, M.S. Course Learning Objectives: Identify your top stress points and ways to effectively conquer worry Explore your gifts and how to maximize them in your role Learn a coaching strategy to deal with change & terminally unique people Create action items to inspire you and others to embrace change

CHICAGO -- Antibiotic-resistant superbugs like carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) present a challenge to healthcare professionals as patients move from different care settings and facilities, unknowingly spreading healthcare-associated infections. In a new study, researchers screened all patients for CRE at admission to a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH). They found patients colonized with CRE coming into the LTACH from hospitals, but they also found transmission occurring among patients in the LTACH. LTACHs provide similar care as hospitals but focus on patients who, on average, stay more than 25 days.

The findings of this study provide an indication of the prevalence of CRE in hospitalized patients in one specific region, as well as the frequency of transmission based on transitions between healthcare facilities. The study is published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

"Identification of asymptomatic CRE carriers admitted to LTACHs may help identify patients who could benefit from interventions that reduce risks for subsequent CRE transmission and break cycles of resistance that develop when patients move between healthcare facilities," said Costi Sifri, MD, an author of the study.

Recent research has shown that LTACHs can play important roles in the regional transmission of CRE. These facilities are reservoirs of healthcare-associated infections, since patients admitted to these facilities are highly susceptible to CRE colonization due to risk factors such as complex medical conditions, extended hospitalizations, invasive medical devices and unnecessary antibiotic use.

Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System prospectively screened patients admitted to a 40-bed central Virginia LTACH for CRE colonization. Additionally, weekly surveillance for CRE was performed on all patients in the facility. During the 24-month study period, 262 patients received care at the LTACH and 20 had positive CRE cultures.

The investigators identified six patients positive for CRE on admission who had no known history of CRE infection or colonization. Two of these patients were admitted from the affiliated academic hospital and four were admitted from four separate regional hospitals.

Additionally, six patients had a prior history of CRE colonization or infection and seven patients had no known history of CRE infection or colonization, but tested positive during hospitalization.

In a commentary published alongside the study, L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Miami notes "healthcare professionals who work in this field are concerned with the inter-facility, inter-regional, and inter-continental spread of CREs. However, we are attempting to solve a population health problem by using snapshots of what occurs in our own hospitals or within a limited set of facilities where we have professional networks... over simplifications are hindering us from determining the extent in which all the contributing factors are affecting this dynamic population model." 

People with cheerful temperaments are significantly less likely to suffer a coronary event such as a heart attack or sudden cardiac death, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

Previous research has shown that depressed and anxious people are more likely to have heart attacks and to die from them than those whose dispositions are sunnier. But the Johns Hopkins researchers say their study shows that a general sense of well-being — feeling cheerful, relaxed, energetic and satisfied with life — actually reduces the chances of a heart attack.

A report on the research is published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

"If you are by nature a cheerful person and look on the bright side of things, you are more likely to be protected from cardiac events," says study leader Lisa R. Yanek, M.P.H., an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "A happier temperament has an actual effect on disease and you may be healthier as a result."

Yanek cautioned that cheerful personalities are likely part of the temperament we are born with, not something we can easily change. While some have suggested it's possible that people lucky enough to have such a trait are also more likely to take better care of themselves and have more energy to do so, Yanek says her research shows that people with higher levels of well-being still had many risk factors for coronary disease but had fewer serious heart events.

She emphasized that the mechanisms behind the protective effect of positive well-being remain unclear. She also noted that her research offers insights into the interactions between mind and body, and could yield clues to those mechanisms in the future.

For the study, Yanek and her colleagues first looked at data from GeneSTAR (Genetic Study of Atherosclerosis Risk), a 25-year Johns Hopkins project sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to determine the roots of heart disease in people with a family history of coronary disease. They analyzed information gathered from 1,483 healthy siblings of people who had coronary events before the age of 60 and who were followed for five to 25 years. Siblings of people with early-onset coronary artery disease (CAD) are twice as likely of developing it themselves.

Among other things, study participants filled out well-being surveys and received a score, on a scale of 0 to 110, which gauged cheerful mood, level of concern about health, whether they were relaxed as opposed to anxious, energy level and life satisfaction. Over the course of an average 12-year follow-up, the researchers documented 208 coronary events — heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, acute coronary syndrome, and the need for stents or bypass surgery — in the sibling group.

The researchers found that participants' positive well-being was associated with a one-third reduction in coronary events; among those deemed at the highest risk for a coronary event, there was nearly a 50 percent reduction. The findings took into account other heart disease risk factors such as age, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

To validate their result, the researchers then looked at similar information in a general population using data from 5,992 participants in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In this population, over an average 16-year follow-up, there were 1,226 coronary events (20.5 percent). They found that this group also benefitted from a cheerful temperament, which reduced their risk of a coronary event by 13 percent.

The findings held whether the participants were white or African-American, men or women.

Chicago (July 8, 2013) — Last month, the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. (DANB) hosted a forum to discuss its new, upcoming certification program: the Certified Entry Level Dental Assistant (CELDA).

Representatives and other individuals from DANB's communities of interest attended the forum, held June 17, 2013. DANB's CELDA certification, which is still in the development stage, is expected to be launched in 2014.

"The information and ideas the group discussed at the forum will help DANB's Board of Directors make informed decisions about the new CELDA certification program," said DANB Board Chair Frank Maggio, D.D.S.

The CELDA certification program is another way in which DANB fulfills its mission to promote the public good by providing credentialing services to the dental community. Additionally, DANB's CELDA certification program will give entry-level dental assistants a jump-start on the career ladder.

"Dental assistants enter the profession through many different pathways," explained DANB Executive Director Cindy Durley, M.Ed., MBA. "Many are on-the-job trained and must therefore wait at least two years before being eligible for DANB's CDA certification exam. Many dental assistants — as well as the dental community and the public — will benefit from the availability of an entry-level certification."

Like DANB's other certification programs, there will be a number of different eligibility pathways to earn CELDA certification. It is important to note the CELDA certification program will be a new and additional step on the career ladder, with its own unique eligibility pathways for those who do not yet qualify for DANB's full CDA certification.

With the new CELDA certification, DANB's vision of the career ladder includes:

• Passing DANB's Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and Infection Control (ICE) exams

• Earning DANB's CELDA certification

• Earning DANB's CDA and/or Certified Orthodontic Assistant (COA) certification

• Earning DANB's Certified Preventive Functions Dental Assistant (CPFDA) and/or Certified Restorative Functions Dental Assistant (CRFDA) certification

Each state defines its own regulations and requirements for dental assistants, and in most states, there are no eligibility requirements to work as an entry-level dental assistant. DANB supports states' rights and believes that a defined dental assisting career ladder can help states determine any licensure, registration and certification requirements for dental assistants, as well as how to best meet access to oral healthcare needs.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $916 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.

“Recent events underscore the critical role these preparedness programs play in ensuring our health care and public health systems are poised to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from events like Hurricane Sandy, large explosions such the chemical plant in Texas, or terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombings in April,” said Nicole Lurie, M.D., HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response.

Ali Khan, M.D., director of HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office for Public Health Preparedness and Response, agreed. “Already in 2013, local and state health agencies have responded to eight food borne outbreaks, two new global diseases, and 37 disaster and emergency declarations, a clear indication of the breadth of threats that public health departments must be capable of responding to,” he said.

The fiscal year 2013 funding to support health care and public health preparedness programs included approximately $332 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $584 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded more than $916 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas.

“Recent events underscore the critical role these preparedness programs play in ensuring our health care and public health systems are poised to respond successfully to emergencies and recover quickly from events like Hurricane Sandy, large explosions such the chemical plant in Texas, or terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombings in April,” said Nicole Lurie, M.D., HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response.

Ali Khan, M.D., director of HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office for Public Health Preparedness and Response, agreed. “Already in 2013, local and state health agencies have responded to eight food borne outbreaks, two new global diseases, and 37 disaster and emergency declarations, a clear indication of the breadth of threats that public health departments must be capable of responding to,” he said.

The fiscal year 2013 funding to support health care and public health preparedness programs included approximately $332 million awarded for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) cooperative agreement and more than $584 million awarded for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement.