UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Kelly Braun, rural major care and integration coordinator on the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH), obtained the 2023 Individual Innovative Oral Health Champion Award from the PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH). The award was offered on Nov. 17 at a ceremony held in Harrisburg through the 2023 Pennsylvania Oral Health Summit.

The Individual Innovative Oral Health Champion Award acknowledges a person who has demonstrated notable efforts on behalf of oral well being progress in Pennsylvania and who, by way of progressive and excellent contributions, has improved oral well being in Pennsylvania on the native, regional or state ranges.

PORH was shaped in 1991 as a partnership between the federal authorities, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Penn State. The workplace is one in every of 50 state places of work of rural well being within the nation and is charged with being a supply of coordination, technical help, networking and partnership growth.

In her place with PORH, Braun leads technical help actions for Rural Health Clinics (RHC) in Pennsylvania and rural well being care integration, with a particular emphasis on oral well being. She is a registered dental hygienist and a public well being dental hygiene practitioner.

The nomination, submitted by Dr. Eve Kimball, a pediatrician from Wyomissing, who serves because the secretary of the PCOH board of administrators, lauded Braun for epitomizing the qualities inherent in nice leaders: integrity, honesty, humility, ardour, clear focus and drive for excellence. Since becoming a member of PORH in 2016, Braun has centered her passions for oral and rural care to advance the well being standing in rural Pennsylvania, different states and throughout the nation, Kimball famous.

Braun’s vital contributions to rural well being providers embody launching a major care/oral well being integration mannequin that’s now the “Gold Standard” for different states implementing comparable applications. Braun supplied intensive enter into the event of the Pennsylvania Oral Health Plan and the 2024-2028 Pennsylvania Rural Health Plan. She gives enter into oral well being laws within the state and led a analysis challenge that in contrast the oral well being standing of rural and concrete low-income Pennsylvania kids. Technical help on oral well being points given to the National Rural Health Association resulted in a sturdy nationwide coverage temporary on the implications of oral well being on well being standing.

Braun extends her information of oral well being by way of persevering with education schemes for well being care suppliers, together with neighborhood well being staff and clinics throughout the state; selling oral well being screenings in Ok-12 settings with faculty nurses; and serving as a mentor to different states searching for to combine oral well being and first care. She makes use of her scientific abilities as a public well being dental hygienist by volunteering at oral well being “pop up clinics” throughout the state.

Finally, Braun has created vital credibility for PORH as a trusted supply of oral well being technical help and data and facilitated expanded collaborations with PCOH and the broader oral well being neighborhood within the state and nationally.

On receiving the award and recognition, Braun stated, “This work would not be possible without the support of amazing partners from across the state of Pennsylvania and beyond. Collaboration has truly been the key to success.”

The PA Coalition for Oral Health is a various group of leaders from throughout the state from faculties of public well being, philanthropic organizations, companies, dental organizations, medical insurance corporations, advocacy organizations, state companies and different champions. More info is on the market at paoralhealth.org.

PORH gives experience within the areas of rural well being, inhabitants well being, high quality enchancment, oral well being and agricultural well being and security. PORH is administratively situated within the Department of Health Policy and Administration within the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State University Park. Visit porh.psu.edu to study extra.