1601-11715

This investment supports the Physician Assistant Education Association, the fiscal agent, to participate and support the development of the Physician Assistant Leadership Initiative in Oral Health (PLIOH), a national effort that works to expand the role of physician assistants in oral health improvement. The initiative will continue to support the role of PAs in the oral health of the patients they serve by innovating in both the education and practice settings. PA network facilitation has fostered a partnership across PA national organizations that address accreditation education, certification and practice. . Physician Assistants are an important provider group to promote oral health learnings because they are uniquely placed in diverse settings to provide access to oral health prevention and knowledge across the lifespan of their patients. Approximately half of existing PA programs include some oral health content. This proposal aligns with the Oral Health 2020 Goal of integrating oral health into person-centered healthcare and the target that, by 2020, oral health is integrated into at least 50% of emerging person-centered care models.