Oral Care for Older Patients: Section 3: Successful Policy and Payment Systems

James Bramson is Chief Dental Officer of United Concordia Companies, Inc. in Harrisburg, PA. Previously, Dr. Bramson served as the executive director of the American Dental Association (ADA) and as Secretary for the ADA Foundation.

In this role he oversaw legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts at both the federal and state levels; redefined the organization’s image amid complex and changing national emphasis on health care cost and delivery; and reversed a declining market share by focusing business strategy on core competencies. During his tenure, the ADA also was named one of the nine most remarkable associations in the book, “7 Measures of Success.”

Beth Truett is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oral Health America (OHA), an organization dedicated to improving the oral health of all Americans by connecting communities to resources to improve access to care, to educate people about the importance of oral health to overall health, and to advocate for policies to further oral health equity.

Truett came to OHA in September 2008 with significant corporate and non-profit leadership experience, serving previously as the Executive Director of Chicago Lights, a community outreach organization that annually serves 7,000 Chicagoans who face the challenges of aging, poverty, access to education and healthcare.  At OHA and Chicago Lights Truett has worked to craft strategies designed to increase visibility, resources and collaborative programming.

She began her career in marketing with Kraft Foods.  Truett was Senior Vice President for two of the nation’s largest providers of global event, medical education and travel management services, where she led the Enterprise Consulting Service business, serving corporations in the pharmaceutical, financial services, defense and technology sectors.  Her focus has been on designing global business solutions, developing national account organizations, and overseeing the integration of small business acquisitions. She also worked in sales and marketing with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.

Ms. Truett has a BS in Food & Nutrition from Valparaiso University.  She completed a master’s course in Hospitality Management at Florida International University; holds a Masters of Divinity degree, with Distinction, from McCormick Seminary in Chicago; and earned her Certificate in Non-profit Management from Indiana University School of Philanthropy.

Beth is a member of the Association of Funding Professionals (AFP), serving as a mentor to young women and is a member of the Corporate Responsibility Group.  She belongs to the Association Forum of ASAE; in October 2012 was inducted into the American College of Dentists as an Honorary Fellow; and was previously elected to Leadership America, an international organization recognizing women for career and volunteer leadership.   Truett serves on the National Advisory Council of Give Kids a Smile and was recently elected to the Advisory Council of the ADHA Foundation.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for Voices for Illinois Children and is a Trustee of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago.  She and her husband serve in multiple volunteer capacities for organizations in Chicago and their home town of Oak Park, IL, including the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust.

She is an avid gardener, traveler, cook and charity runner.  She loves the theatre, but most of all adores her five grandchildren, Hilary, Nora, Ada, Arlo and Jordan.

Dr. Helgeson is Chief Executive Officer of Apple Tree Dental, an innovative nonprofit organization that operates five programs in Minnesota with a staff of over 100. Apple Tree’s clinics and mobile dental offices create year-round dental homes in collaboration with more than 100 Head Start Centers, schools, group homes, and nursing facilities in both urban and rural areas.

Apple Tree’s model is called “community collaborative practice” and it has been replicated successfully in North Carolina and Louisiana and has received recognition from the Surgeon General, the American Dental Association, Oral Health America and the Robert Wood Johnson and Kellogg Foundations. Dr. Helgeson served as Project Executive for the Minnesota Oral Healthcare Solutions Project, bringing together Minnesota’s leaders in community health and dentistry to redesign the state’s Medicaid dental programs.

Dr. Helgeson’s educational background includes completing B.S. and D.D.S. degrees, followed by a two-year post-graduate program in geriatric dentistry, and a mini-MBA program in nonprofit management. Dr. Helgeson has served as past presidents of both the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry and the Special Care Dentistry Association and serves as a member of the American Dental Association’s National Elder Care Advisory Committee.