Some states have limited them to Native American lands or to areas where there are qualified dental shortages. We have to be
proactive in Pennsylvania and see how the majority of members in our association feel about this and how we should approach it.
ADA has resources available to assist us and we need to consider how much help we want. We must be prepared now so that we are
not caught by surprise when these forces target Pennsylvania.
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Some of my President-elect campaign goals from last year are already being addressed by the BOT
and our committees/advisory groups. I offer the following for your review:
• Provide coordinated resources for locals and
district societies to improve membership growth
and retention with the assistance of PDA.
The Regional Membership Task Force is focused on
how best to approach membership growth. PDA or
ADA can provide ideas for growth in membership, but
the local societies are really the best place to start new
initiatives. Just like the term “all politics is local,” so too is
membership. We should focus our financial resources on
the locals to help them develop programs that will attract
and retain members. We are also working closely with our
American Student Dental Association leaders to enhance
their membership experience.
• Proactively face the challenge of access to dental
care in order to best determine our response to
DHATs.
As mentioned above, we have to decide what is best for
our members and the public and determine how much
help we need from the ADA in assisting us with our plans.
We need to consider if this is a viable method to address
the access to care issue for our underserved population.
• Drive members to take full advantage of PDA,
PDAIS and ADA benefits, especially for new dentists
and those contemplating practice transitions.
The new mobile app will be designed to help our
newer and more seasoned members (as well as dental
students) find and take advantage of resources that
will help them to succeed. We need to be sure that
our members get value for their dollars so that when
someone asks “why should I join organized dentistry?”
the answer is at our fingertips. There are so many
benefits available to our members, but digging through
the wealth of information on our website to find them
can be daunting. This app is one of many initiatives
designed to help our members succeed.
• Foster leadership development by engaging the
local, district and PDA committee members to be
actively involved at all levels.
Recently President Dr. Jim Boyle determined that
some of our advisory groups were not functioning
at their fullest capacity and he asked the BOT
designate them as committees. This means that the
board is dedicated to spending money on programs
to ensure success of our members. We held a
Leadership Development conference in 2018 to help
enhance leadership skills, and we are pleased to now
announce that we are planning a PDA Congress this
fall in Harrisburg. Members of all PDA committees,
advisory groups and local/district leaders as well
as our general membership will be invited to meet
face-to-face to discuss their committee’s initiatives,
share their programs with everyone and set the
course for PDA over the next several years. Growth in
leadership will come from those involved in guiding
the PDA now.
• Continue to promote support for PADPAC and
ADPAC and develop a legislative agenda to help our
members succeed.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that those
legislators who receive support from PADPAC are
most supportive of our legislative initiatives. It is
easy to drop $100 or more on a nice dinner at a
local restaurant – so it is just as easy for me to ask
you to support PADPAC in the same manner. How
much does a cup of coffee at Starbucks cost? Could
you give up a few of those to contribute to the
future of your profession? Put in another way, can
you give just $8.33 per month or 28 cents a day to
make sure our association’s goals are put in front of
House and Senate members in Harrisburg? Please
consider making a donation of any amount to
support our lobbying efforts.
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