One of my favorite sayings is “we find purpose where we find service”. From the very first House of Delegates, I recognized I had attended something special. I knew I wanted to be a part of the organization. Fast forward twenty-five years and I am honored to serve as the current President of the California Dental Hygienists’ Association. CDHA.
My theme for this upcoming year is “Emerging Stronger Together”. The inspiration came after a challenging unpredictable year of rethinking how we would remain relevant in a Covid dominant world. While we all had to navigate a different communication style, I believe CDHA rose to the challenge, and we have evolved into a better and stronger organization.
I currently still work in private practice, I am an RDHAP and the sole proprietor my own business, and I am a clinical instructor at Southwestern College. I recognize the impact CDHA has had on my life because I couldn’t be this diversified without a professional organization to represent all of these roles.
We are one of the few remaining professional organizations that is run by the members. We actually have meaningful dialogue about where our profession should be heading and then the California Dental Hygienists’ Association moves these resolutions forward into policy. This is huge!
Looking to the future, CDHA will continue to evaluate our direction as a profession and our structure as an organization. As the weight of this pandemic subsides, the need for a more integrated and inclusive healthcare model is more indisputable than ever. This provides us the best opportunity yet to widen our scope of practice. Consequently, CDHA will continue to investigate the possibilities of how hygienists can be incorporated into healthcare models that have a more profound impact on access to care and underserved communities.
My name is Heidi Coggan. I look forward to serving you as we Emerge Stronger Together.
Heidi Coggan, RDHAP, BS
President