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ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and
American Dental Association (ADA)
August 8, 2008

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

April 12, 2004

Date Renewed

May 18, 2006

Evaluation Period

April 12, 2007 – April 11, 2008

Overview

The OSHA and ADA Alliance focuses on fostering a culture of prevention and promoting safe and healthful working conditions for dental employees while sharing technical knowledge in the area of ergonomics.

Implementation Team Members
 
OSHA:  
   
Brett Besser Directorate of Science Technology and Medicine (DSTM), Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC)
Cathy Cronin Directorate of Training and Education (DTE), OSHA Training Institute (OTI)
Lee Anne Jillings Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP) Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
Sarah Samuel DCSP, Office of Small Business Assistance (OSBA)
Bill Willson DCSP, OOSA
   
ASA:  
   
Jerry Bowman
Donalda Ellek
Tom Spangler
Helen Ristic
Jim Willey		  

II. Implementation Team Meetings

May 15, 2007 Implementation Team Meeting, Teleconference
August 21, 2007 Implementation Team Meeting, Teleconference
December 4, 2007 Implementation Team Meeting, Teleconference
March 18, 2008 Implementation Team Meeting, Teleconference


III. Results
  1. Events and Products

    Outreach and Communication Goals
     
    • Work with OSHA to provide expertise in developing information on the recognition and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, and to provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information (e.g. print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA’s and the ADA’s Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.

    Products

    OSHA and ASA Alliance Web page

    OSHA continues to maintain and update the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site. The page includes links to safety and health resources, including the "Ergo Tips - Hand Pain" information sheet developed by ADA through the OSHA and ADA Alliance. In addition, the page has links to news releases and information on the Alliance’s activities and events and to their milestones and successes. For more information on the number of visits to the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page, please see the Alliance Program Reach Table.

    ADA/OSHA Alliance Web Page

    The ADA/OSHA Alliance Web page on the ADA Web site features information about the OSHA and ADA Alliance, including a link to the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site. The page also includes a number of links to additional safety and health resources, including the OSHA "A Guide to Compliance with OSHA Standards" for medical and dental offices and the U.S. Department of Labor: Working Partners for an Alcohol- and Drug-Free Workplace Web site.

    OSHA Safety and Health Topics Pages

    Through the Alliance, ADA representatives continue to provide their expertise to review, maintain and update the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention and Dentistry Safety and Health Topics pages. Donalda Ellek, Manager, Office of Quality Assessment and Improvement, Council on Dental Benefits Programs, ADA, Chicago, Illinois, and Helen Ristic, Director of Scientific Information, ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, represent the ADA on the page’s editorial boards.

    OSHA’s Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry

    Through the Alliance, ADA representatives provided OSHA with their expertise during the development of the Agency Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry module. The module was posted on the Agency Web site in August 2007.Tom Spangler, Director, Legislative and Regulatory Policy, ADA, Washington, DC, continues to serve on the tool’s editorial board. In December 2007, a link to the tool was added to the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site.

    Ergo Tips - Hand Pain and Low Back Pain Information Sheets

    Through the OSHA and ADA Alliance, ADA developed the "Ergo Tips - Hand Pain" information sheet for dental schools and dentists. ADA completed the information sheet and posted it on the ADA/OSHA Alliance Web page on the association Web site in October 2007. OSHA links to the document from the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site.

    In addition, through the Alliance ADA has begun development of its "Ergo Tips - Low Back Pain" Information Sheet. ADA shared the draft information sheet, which will be finalized in the fall of 2008, with OSHA for review and comment.

    Publications and Newsletters

    ADA has published the following articles about the OSHA and ADA Alliance, free OSHA courses and safety and health compliance assistance resources in the ADA News:

    • "Free OSHA Course Available on ADA CE Online Until September 1, 2007" ADA News, August 14, 2007
    •  "OSHA Launches Online Compliance Assistance Tool" ADA News, August 22, 2008
    • "ADA-OSHA Alliance Posts New Ergonomic Resources" ADA News, October 16, 2007
       
    Please see the chart in this report under Alliance Program Reach Table for additional information.

    Events

    American Dental Association Conference on Dentist Health and Wellness, Chicago, Illinois August 16, 2007

    On August 16, 2007, Dana Root, Ergonomist, Region V, USDOL-OSHA, spoke at the American Dental Association Conference on Dentist Health and Wellness in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Root gave a presentation, "Ergonomics for the Front Office Staff."

    ADA Success Practice Management Series

    The ADA added a slide on the OSHA and ADA Alliance to the ADA’s Success Practice Management Series slide presentation and has presented or will present the seminar at 31 dental schools during the 2007-2008 school year.
     
    • Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding ADA’s best practices or effective approaches and publicize results through outreach by ADA and through OSHA- or ADA-developed materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

      During this reporting period, OSHA and the ADA did not work on projects to address this goal.
       
    • Work with other Alliance participants on specific issues and projects on ergonomics that are addressed and developed through the Alliance Program.

      During this reporting period, OSHA and the ADA did not work on projects to address this goal.
       
  2. Executive Summary

    During the 2007-2008 reporting period, OSHA and the ADA continued to share expertise and update and develop resources with information about the Alliance and ergonomics. For example, the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the OSHA Web site provides links to a number of news articles that appeared in the ADA publication ADA News, a link to the OSHA Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry, related documents, activities and events, and milestones and successes. The ADA maintains the ADA/OSHA Alliance Web page on the ADA Web site with information about the Alliance and links to the OSHA Web site.

    ADA representatives continue to serve on the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen and Needlestick Prevention and Dentistry Safety and Health Topics pages’ editorial boards. In addition, ADA representatives provided OSHA with their expertise during the development of the Agency Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry module which was launched in August 2007. ADA representatives continue to serve on its editorial board.

    Through the Alliance, OSHA and ADA also shared information through speaking opportunities. For example, on August 16, 2007, Dana Root, Ergonomist, Region V, USDOL-OSHA, spoke at the American Dental Association Conference on Dentist Health and Wellness in Chicago, Illinois.
     
  3. Alliance Program Reach

    Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the OSHA Web site 3,433
    ADA/OSHA Alliance Web page on the ADA Web site Data Not Available
    Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention Safety and Health Topics page
    Dentistry    		 198,666
    Dentistry Safety and Health Topics page 26,600
    Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry 28,000
    August 14, 2007, "Free OSHA Course Available on ADA CE Online Until September 1, 2007," ADA News 147,000
    August 22, 2007, "OSHA Launches Online Compliance Assistance Tool," ADA News 147,000
    August 16, 2007, "Ergonomics for the Front Office Staff" American Dental Association Conference on Dentist Health and Wellness, Chicago, Illinois
    Speaker:
    Dana Root, Ergonomist, Region V, USDOL-OSHA    		 6
    ADA’s Success Practice Management Seminar
    • Presented 31 times in dental schools
    		31
    October 16, 2007, "ADA-OSHA Alliance Posts New Ergonomic Resources," ADA News 147,000
    August 30, 2007, "OSHA, ASA Renew Alliance," The Daily Reporter Data Not Available
    TOTAL 697,736

    IV. Upcoming Milestones

    OSHA and ADA will sign the OSHA and ADA Alliance renewal agreement in the summer of 2008.

    In the upcoming year, OSHA and ADA will continue to promote awareness of the Alliance Program and ergonomics in the dental industry. For example, OSHA and ADA will continue to maintain and update the OSHA and ADA Alliance Web page on the OSHA Web site and the ADA/OSHA Alliance Web page on the association Web site.

    In addition, ADA representatives will continue to review and provide information for OSHA’s Safety and Health Topics pages on Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention and Dentistry through their participation on the pages’ editorial boards. ADA staff also will continue to serve on the editorial board for the OSHA Compliance Assistance Quick Start: Health Care Industry.

    Further, through the OSHA and ADA Alliance, ADA will complete the "Ergo Tips - Low Back Pain" information sheet in late 2008 and develop the "Ergo Tips - Upper Back Pain" information sheet before April 2009. In addition, ADA will develop an ergonomic fact sheet for dental office personnel and an online brochure or other type of publication, for dentists, on ergonomics applied to patients in the dental office.

    The ADA also will invite Agency representatives to make presentations on dental ergonomics and establishing a drug-free workplace at the 2009 Health and Wellness Conference September 10-11, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.

    Other projects ADA will pursue through the Alliance include incorporating additional slides on ergonomics and OSHA compliance assistance resources into the Success Practice Management Series presentations for dental students, posting hyperlinks to ergonomic articles and tips monthly on the ADA Web site, and sending out ergonomics tips out to dentists via ADA electronic media on a quarterly basis.


    Report prepared by: Bill Willson, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, August 8, 2008.