Executive Summary
National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH) is a 501c (3) certificate level education platform for Registered Dental Hygienists (RDHs) who have an oral systemic health focus over dental health alone. We offer professional membership, resources and certificate programs in areas of oral systemic health and/or medicine to support RDHs working in traditional dental or integrated settings, educating patients and providers, and developing oral systemic prevention programs. Membership is not required to take our programs, but it is encouraged for the support community.
Mission
- To help RDHs feel prepared and confident working collaboratively with multidisciplinary providers, in both clinical and non-clinical roles, and in both dental and medical settings, to save and improve lives.
- To provide RDHs with advanced education they can trust, in the form of quality certificate programs that are both AGD PACE and ANAB compliant.
- To offer RDHs new career pathways and innovative ideas to draw from when designing their ideal clinical job or transitioning their skills into non-clinical and hybrid avenues.
Vision
That all dental, medical and healthcare systems employ RDHs as oral systemic educators to work collaboratively on patient centered teams.
Values
Quality, Integration, Collaboration, Elevation
2024/25 Main Objectives
1. Achieve Accreditation with ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) with the standard ASTM E2659-18 for certificate programs: Continue quality improvement to achieve ASTM E2659-18 accreditation for both of our certificate programs, Oral Systemic Educator and Oncology. Doing so will strengthen the credibility and value of our programs and help them stand out to national and international employers, stakeholders and students as a mark of excellence.
2. Establish formal written collaborative agreements with allied organizations: ANSI Accreditation is a global sign of quality that healthcare systems, hospitals, and associations all over the world trust. To leverage our achievement, we will collaborate with similar, allied organizations to broaden our reach and impact and help our community become aware of other opportunities in the oral systemic health space. We will seek out mutually beneficial collaborations that help us all grow, and that also positively impact our students, and the patients they serve, with an end goal of saving and improving lives.
3. To elevate the public's perception of who an RDH is: To further our mission of every collaborative care team including an RDH, we will work with our allied organizations to elevate the public’s perception and the medical system’s understanding of the education level, license, passion and abilities a registered dental hygienist holds. We will also support the transition from a trade that is nearly fully clinical and dental (scaling) in nature, to a well-known, well-respected, licensed healthcare profession that (much like nursing) may be clinical, educational, or administrative in nature, and can work safely with indirect supervision by a dentist or physician (especially in educational roles). We need leaders from multiple organizations to step up and assist with broadcasting the shared messages that are created so that the public sees them multiple times in a variety of ways.
Beyond 2025
- To reach more international hygienists who desire the type of knowledge, education and networking we offer.
- To partner with allied individuals and organizations that have advanced education to offer, and desire a collaborator with experience building quality certificate programs that meet both AGD PACE and ANAB standards.
- To support a doctorate level degree for RDHs so that we may govern ourselves and meet the current demands for:
- Qualified dental hygiene educators
- Integration into complex healthcare systems and medical specialty clinics
- Advanced oral systemic and dental hygiene research
