Meet Nan A Healthcare Hygienist with Heart

Meet Nan! She is a clinical Healthcare Hygienist in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is also the current National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH) President, founder of PEAK Hygiene Study Club, an Educational Consultant, Dental Endoscope trainer, and RDH program developer.

Increasing access to oral care for homebound patients, long term healthcare facilities, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers is incredibly important to her. When patients from care facilities present in her office, she finds their oral hygiene at home is limited or overlooked entirely, which of course impedes their overall health and healing. It really tugs at her heart strings and she looks forward to helping more facilities and caretakers understand the importance.

She dreams of making a big difference in the dental hygiene industry and in her own community.

She enrolled in the NNHH Oral Systemic Educator Certificate Program (OSECP) because she wanted to build her knowledge and join a community of like-minded, and like-hearted hygienists. Since completing the program, she has felt more confident reviewing and updating the medical history of her patients in-depth, and referring to the appropriate healthcare provider when needed.

Nan said the main benefit of the OSECP was that her Capstone Project got her out connecting with local medical providers to discuss oral-systemic health, and to develop relationships with competent providers she now feels confident referring her patients to. Taking the time to volunteer and work closely with medical teams really upped her confidence, and she now has a network built that will help her be thought of for future integrative projects as a result.

If you are an RDH considering the Oral Systemic Educator Certificate Program, Nan says, “Do it! Hygienists are highly educated but underutilized. The OSECP provides a framework for breaking new fields of work for our profession.”

Nan's study club is open for enrollment to any hygienist interested. Contact her at [email protected] for more info, or to connect about her other services.