Moravec presents at International Symposium on Dental Hygiene
Lisa Moravec, an associate professor in the UNMC Department of Dental Hygiene and coordinator of the West Division Dental Hygiene Program, was part of a select group of oral health professionals invited to present at the prestigious International Symposium on Dental Hygiene, held Aug. 10-13 in Dublin, Ireland.
The symposium’s goal was to uncover the vital role dental hygienists play as primary health care providers through the exploration of evidence-based and innovative approaches. The 800 participants represented 40 countries and included dental hygienists, medical/dental practitioners and allied health care practitioners.
Moravec’s presentation, “Integrating Oral Health Care into Primary Care Well Child Visits: An Interprofessional Model of Care,” detailed the results of a pilot project to determine the impact of integrating oral health screenings and education into pediatric well-child visits and provide interprofessional education among nursing and dental hygiene students through a collaborative, integrative care model.
The project’s co-author, Kelly Betts, EdD, is an assistant professor and assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing West Nebraska Division.
The project’s preliminary findings show incorporating oral health screenings and education into well-child visits significantly increased caregivers’ understanding of the importance of oral health related to systemic health and is a valuable approach for increasing access to oral health care among high-risk populations.
“I felt it was important to share the results of this project with other oral health professionals so they could see how beneficial it is to incorporate oral health screenings into a medical visit, especially for high-risk populations,” Moravec said.
Retirements announced
In December, the department of human resources announced two retirements.
- Tom Bargar of the office of the vice chancellor of research retired on Dec. 2 after more than 41 years at UNMC. Bargar started at UNMC on Nov. 16, 1981.
- Steve Liston of facilities retired on Nov. 11, after nearly 25 years at UNMC. Liston joined UNMC on Nov. 17, 1997.
Campus key office closing
UNMC’s campus key office, located at the ID Badge Office inside the Student Life Center, level two, in room 2020, will be closing Friday, Dec. 16, at 1:30 p.m. It will re-open on Monday at 8 a.m.