After months of advocacy, BCDHA was thrilled when Dental Hygienists were invited to become ‘dental hygiene immunizers’ and help support the province’s plan to get British Columbians vaccinated.  For the last few months, dental hygienists across the province have been working in immunization clinics, drawing vaccines, giving shots, and monitoring the health of those in the recovery area.  Other hygienists have stepped forward to become Covid-19 testers and contact tracers.  Thank you to all hygienists who have stepped forward as leaders and helping to end the Covid-19 pandemic for this province.  Well done ?

At our recent online AGM, we were thrilled to have Minister Adrian Dix bring greetings and answer a handful of member questions.  The AGM was a great opportunity for BCDHA to reflect on the past year and think about some of the ways we will move forward over the next months.  Enormous thanks to Minister Dix; BCDHA’s Elder In-Residence Aline LaFlamme who led the Indigenous Recognition; Gurdeep Pander of the Yukon who gave BC Dental Hygienists a lesson in dancing Bhangra; and Jonas Eyford who provided a keynote on how to maintain emotional, spiritual, and physical health during these tough times.  Thank you to all our sponsors and mostly, thank you to all the hygienists who participated!

We were also pleased that BCDHA members approved changes to our bylaws, bringing us up to date on some of the changes the pandemic has brought (electronic voting for example).  We now have the opportunity to bring in new directors, and a call will be going out imminently seeking nominations for two new seats on the Board.  We hope many hygienists will be enthused and interested in these opportunities and that many of you will consider putting your name forward to play an active role in the future of the profession.

BCDHA continues to focus efforts on developing recommendations for CDHBC surrounding the Quality Assurance Assessment (QA Exam).  The QA survey had nearly 2,000 responses, and we look forward to formally sharing the results of that as we complete our analysis.  As we move forward with the College Amalgamation and the ongoing work, it is our hope that we can reach a fair and reasonable agreement on the Quality Assurance Assessment with the College.

BCDHA is proud to introduce four new members to our team.  As previously noted, Aline LaFlamme is now the BCDHA Elder in Residence and will be providing us with insight, guidance, and direction as we move forward to embrace and address the complicated challenges of colonization that our country faces.  Jas Chahal has joined BCDHA as Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead/Practice Advisor.  Shannon Wilson will take on the role of Practice Advisor, rounding out our strong Practice Advice Team.  And Cayla Holmes has taken over the role of Office Manager/Executive Assistant.  Please join us in welcoming all four of these exceptional individuals to the BCDHA team.  We are also excited to welcome Susan Schmitz as our new Chair and Margit Strobl as our vice-Chair.

Here’s to BC beginning the long return to normal and the opportunities for us to meet face to face!  Thank you to all of you who have maintained your composure and professionalism through some very challenging times.  It’s a pleasure to work with and for this profession and we’re excited about the future!

Andrea