The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Is Celebrated During Reception

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene—with premier sponsor Colgate and supporting sponsors Patterson Dental and PDT Inc—recognized Jacquelyn L. Fried, RDH, BA, MS, with The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award at a reception on June 22. The event was held during the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s 96th Annual Session in Louisville, Kentucky, with hundreds of meeting attendees present to celebrate Fried’s accomplishments in broadening the understanding and acceptance of dental hygienists as critical members of the health care team.

Fried began teaching at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1978, and has been instrumental in educating and inspiring the next generation of dental hygienists. With her outside-of-the-box thinking, she continues to play an important role in the development and progression of interprofessional education, cementing the importance of the dental hygienist on the greater health care team. In tandem, Fried’s dedication to tobacco cessation research and intervention has also ensured that the dental hygienist is known as the key health care professional in helping patients quit tobacco use.

The award is named after its inaugural recipient and inspirational dental hygiene leader Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, who passed away in December of 2016.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. July/August 2019;17(7):11.