ADHA Announces Recipient of 2011 ADHA Award for Excellence sponsored by Johnson & Johnson—Marsha Larrabee, RDHAP

CHICAGO, July 6, 2011—The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) has named Marsha Larrabee, RDHAP, of Wolf Point, Mont., as the recipient of the ADHA Award for Excellence sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. She was honored during the President’s Luncheon at ADHA’s 88th Annual Session in Nashville on June 19.

Larrabee works as a community dental hygienist with the Indian Health Service at the Fort Peck Service Unit in Montana. She earned an associate degree in dental hygiene from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Cali. in 1968. Larrabee then received her Bachelor of Arts degree in dental hygiene from San Francisco State University in 1979. In 2005, she earned a certificate as a Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice (RDHAP) from University of the Pacific in San Francisco.

Larrabee has been a member of ADHA for 42 years. She has served as president of the East Bay component of the Northern California State Dental Hygienists’ Association (NCSDHA)—now the California Dental Hygienists’ Association (CDHA)—after which she held several positions including component president and component trustee. She also served as president of NCSDHA from 1983-84. Larrabee has served ADHA as a committee member and delegate for several years. She earned the Rural Champion in Community Leadership Award from the California State Rural Health Association in 2008. Currently, she is a member of the Billings component of the Montana Dental Hygienists’ Association.

With this award, ADHA and Johnson & Johnson recognize individual dental hygienists who have made “outstanding accomplishments that have a significant impact on the practice and future of the dental hygiene profession.” The recipients have at least 10 years of membership in ADHA and its constituents, demonstrate an active involvement in the association, and were nominated by a colleague for their outstanding accomplishments.

ADHA is the largest national organization representing the professional interests of more than 150,000 dental hygienists across the country. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. For more information about ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit ADHA at www.adha.org.

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