ADHA Announces Recipient of 2007 Discus Dental/ADHA Distinguished Service Award – Catherine Draper, RDH, MS

Chicago, July 18, 2007—The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) has named Catherine Draper, RDH, MS, of San Jose, Calif., as a recipient of the 2007 Discus Dental/ADHA Distinguished Service Award. She was honored during the opening ceremonies at ADHA’s 84th annual session in New Orleans, La., on June 22nd.

The award was created to recognize members who have provided exemplary service to ADHA, its constituents, and its components. The winners each have 10 years or more of ADHA active membership and association leadership, have advanced the art and science of dental hygiene through service to the association, and were nominated by their constituent.

Draper has been a dental hygienist for more than 30 years. She earned her associate degree in dental hygiene from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills in 1975, and received her Bachelor of Science in health education from San Francisco State University in 1977. In 1978, she received a Master of Science degree in dental hygiene from the University of Michigan, and has since practiced clinically in both Germany and California.

Draper is a past president of the California Dental Hygienists’ Association (CDHA) and was the 2001 leader of the People to People Delegation of Dental Hygienists to China. In 2005 she was named as a recipient of the Sunstar/Butler RDH Award of Distinction. Draper currently works in a general, cosmetic, and implant dental practice in Mountain View, Calif., and is a member of the adjunct faculty at Foothill College, serving as a Student American Dental Hygienists’ Association advisor. She also presents continuing education programs on dental implants and the use of technology in dental hygiene practice. In addition to being an active member of CDHA and ADHA, Draper has served as a library reference associate, assisting patients and their families access health information, at the Stanford Health Library for over ten years.

ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of more than 120,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit ADHA at http://www.adha.org.

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