Hugh
Silk, MD
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He also teaches at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). He is co-author of the award winning national curriculum on oral health for health providers entitled "Smiles for Life" (www.smilesforlifeoralhealth.org). He sits on numerous state and national oral health advocacy committees. He is the recipient of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry’s 2016 Public Service Award.
When he is not teaching and seeing patients, Hugh is collaborating with HRSA and HSDM to help develop the new Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health -CIPCOH.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
Since the release of Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General in 2000, primary care educators and clinicians have been encouraged to embed interprofessional Oral Health (OH) competencies across education programs. Since 2006, PA national organizations and OH champions have worked to ready the PA workforce for interprofessional OH practice. The current study, a partnership between the National Interprofessional Initiative on Oral Health (NIIOH) and the Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health (CIPCOH), provides a longitudinal perspective on OH integration in PA…
In 2000, the Surgeon General’s landmark report on ‘Oral Health in America’ prompted a sense of urgency for primary care education to increase provider understanding, skills, and ownership of oral health (OH) care. Primary care clinicians including physicians, PAs, nurses, pharmacists, and dental professionals are now working to embed oral health and interprofessional practice competencies across their education programs. The ultimate goal is to equip the health care workforce with the knowledge and skills required by new integrated holistic healthcare models to include oral health. The…