Oral Health America's Robert Klaus Honored for Outstanding Public Advocacy
Robert Klaus, President and CEO of Oral Health America, is the recipient of an Outstanding Public Advocacy Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR). The award is given annually to honor those who have served as outstanding advocates for oral health and oral health . . .
ORAL HEALTH AMERICA’S ROBERT KLAUS HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING PUBLIC ADVOCACY
CHICAGO, December 13, 2007—Robert Klaus, President and CEO of Oral Health America, is the recipient of an Outstanding Public Advocacy Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR). The award is given annually to honor those who have served as outstanding advocates for oral health and oral health care in the U.S.
“Robert Klaus’s contributions on behalf of oral health and oral healthcare have made a difference in the lives of individuals throughout the country,” said Peter Anas, Executive Director, NIDCR. “He has approached oral health from multiple angles, from tobacco control, to oral health issues affecting children, seniors, and populations with disabilities, to dental education, and oral health’s impact on overall health.”
Over the past two decades, Klaus has been a stalwart supporter of Americans who are unable to access routine dental care. His many accomplishments at Oral Health America include:
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Launching, with Former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, the Oral Health 2000 Initiative, the then-largest ever public education/health promotion program on oral health.
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Launching, with Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players Association, and Hall of Fame Broadcaster Joe Garagiola, the National Spit Tobacco Education Program with funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Supporting the creation of Special Olympics Special Smiles.
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Launching the Campaign for Oral Health Parity, a communications campaign reaching elected officials, the media, and 50 percent of American households with oral health messages to support the Surgeon General’s landmark Oral Health in America and Call to Action to Promote Oral Health.
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Launching Smiles Across America, the only national program helping communities build infrastructure for school oral health services, now reaching eight regions of the country.
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Launching the National Periodontal Disease Coalition of leaders engaged in promoting the early detection and treatment of this common disease.
“For me, this award is the intersection of an event and an institution,” said Dr. Klaus. “I am honored to be acknowledged for the work that many former FNIDCR award recipients have helped to make possible.”
The FNIDCR, a non-profit organization established in 1998, is a broad-based coalition of individuals, institutions, and corporations who understand the critical importance of dental, oral and craniofacial health to the well-being of society. In addition to Dr. Klaus, this year’s awardees at the FNIDCR gala on December 10 were Alice DeForest, Executive Director, American Academy of Periodontology; The National Museum of Dentistry; Heather Pizzo and Jennifer Eiben from the Susan Byrnes Health Education Center, York, PA; Gary Price, CEO, Dental Trade Alliance; Scientific American; Judy Sherman, Senior Congressional Lobbyist, ADA Governmental Affairs; and Washington Post reporters Jo-Ann Armao, Mary Otto, and January W. Payne. For more information, visit www.fnidcr.org.
Oral Health America is the nation’s premier, independent advocacy organization dedicated to improving oral health for all Americans. Find out more at www.oralhealthamerica.org.
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