What Dentists Need to Know About the New Virginia Emergency Standard

The Department of Labor and Industry in Virginia has issued a new emergency temporary standard, which was published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Monday. The VDA and dozens of other medical and business groups urged the board to reconsider and grant exemptions to these regulations. Thank you to the more than 150 VDA members who answered our action alert and amplified that message with their own comments submitted to the board.

 

The board noted the strong objections of the dental profession during their deliberation. While we did not receive an exemption, those personal messages from dentists provided the board a clear understanding of dentistry’s long-standing record of excellence as a leader in infection control, exemplified through adherence to the CDC, ADA and VDA recommendations and guidelines recently put into place. The VDA will continue to fight against overly burdensome and unnecessary regulations and to ensure this emergency standard is not extended. 

 

The VDA’s Back to Work Task Force has been preparing a template to simplify the process for members to comply with the standard. We are finalizing the resource and expect to issue that document to members later this week. 

 

Some of the training requirements take effect on August 26, 2020 while others take effect September 25, 2020. 

 

Be on the lookout for more information from the VDA Back to Work Task Force soon. You can find the full temporary standard published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch here.