February 2011- Oregon
Oregon Health Licensing Agency
700 Summer Street NE, Suite 320 • Salem, OR 97301-1287
Licensing Office (503) 378-8667 • Enforcement Unit (503) 378-4294
www.oregon.gov/OHLA
Taking License | by Kraig Bohot
A Tale of Two Licensees
I received an e-mail from Nin Dickinson of Perfect Image Plus Salon &
Dayspring Beauty Supply about Edith Overstreet, who had just marked 60
years practicing hair design in St. Helens.
"I come to you with a little information that I feel is positive and uplifting
concerning a member of my profession," Dickinson wrote. "I am hopeful
someone at the state board level will recognize a truly wonderful stylist.
"Her salon in St. Helens has been in operation in two different locations since
1950. Edith actually still has in her possession her hand written (in pencil by
the way) practitioner's certificate from the State of Oregon and original utility
bills. The most amazing thing is Edith has yet to retire. She is still servicing
clients several days a week in the Salon at 84 years of age. I am in awe of this
woman!!"
While I agreed with Dickinson that
Overstreet's story was a "feel good" one, I
paused to consider how I could turn it into
something with broader licensing and
regulatory significance for readers of the
NW Stylist.
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Besides styling hair, Edith Overstreet
is also a painter. Many of her
paintings are on display at her salon
in St. Helens.
The angle that I determined could justify a
column, as well as a trip to St. Helens, was
to focus on the fact that Overstreet, in all
her years of practice, had never been
found in violation of any law or rule of the
Board of Cosmetology.
That fact dovetailed nicely into a column
idea I had previously considered to give
credit to all the practitioners who have
never been cited for a violation, the flip side to a list we have published off and
on in the past showing facility license and practitioner certificate holders who
owe past-due civil penalties.
As a licensing, regulatory and consumer protection agency, the role of the
Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) isn't to actively promote the
professions we regulate. However, that doesn't mean we always need to use
a stick when a carrot will do just fine.
A week and a half after I visited with Overstreet in St. Helens, I received an
e-mail from a fellow OHLA staff member indicating someone had called in and
said he had "…heard on the radio we shut down a barber for being expired."
In seemingly an instant, the feel-good story of Edith Overstreet in St. Helens
had turned into a media buzz saw.
As you might have heard, Sherwood barber Dale Smith's certification expired
in 2006, but he continued to practice until an OHLA inspector discovered the
lapse in mid-January. After friend and fellow barber Sam Hays aired his
concerns about Smith's situation on the Lars Larson radio show, the news
sparked much media attention and online comments from the public.
The similarities between the two (both octogenarians who are actively
practicing, both long-time, well-regarded fixtures of small town communities)
became abruptly juxtaposed by the intense media glare and public scrutiny
generated by a simple yet key difference: Edith's certification was current,
Dale's wasn't.
Unfortunately, Dale Smith's long record without any violations prior to his
practicing for more than four years in expired status (two two-year renewal
periods), couldn't be applied to make an exception to the requirements.
The Board of Cosmetology determined under Oregon law, Mr. Smith must
re-take and pass the practical examination and the Oregon Laws and Rules
written exam due to his certification being in expired status since 2006.
However, the Board did vote on January 24 to accept Smith's passage of the
barbering examination in 1957, tacknowledging he had been practicing for
years in good standing.
Everyone on the Board and at OHLA wish Mr. Smith well, and are confident
that he is receiving the guidance and assistance he needs to come back into
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compliance with the law so he can once again provide services to his loyal
customers in Sherwood.
I won't belabor the point about how it's the responsibility of each individual
with an authorization to practice to keep it current. Nor will I argue the merits
of requiring refresher examinations after three years in expired status.
Those requirements were established through a combination of decision-
making by industry peers in the cosmetology field who sit on the Board of
Cosmetology (along with the key public member position), OHLA, and
ultimately the Oregon State Legislature.
Is there a moral to this story? I don't know. But I do know that I applaud Edith
Overstreet, Dale Smith and the hundreds of other practitioners who continue
to practice in the four fields of cosmetology beyond the usual retirement age.
As Nin Dickinson stated in her e-mail, "The young stylists just starting out in
our industry sometimes forget the women and men who truly helped to
pioneer the craft."
Kraig Bohot is Public Information Officer at the Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA), a
state consumer protection agency providing centralized regulatory oversight of multiple health
and related professions. He can be reached at (503) 373-1939 or at kraig.bohot@state.or.us.
Media Accuracy Watch:
Barber Not "Shut Down"
The Oregon Health Licensing Agency (OHLA) and Board of Cosmetology did
not "shut down" Sherwood barber Dale Smith due to his practitioner certificate
being found in expired status for more than three years, as some media
reports indicated last month.
"What we communicate during inspections is that until practitioners have met
the requirements of recertification, they are in violation of operating with an
expired practitioner's certification," says OHLA Regulatory Operations Division
Manager David Sparks. "We rarely would require a facility to close its doors,
and only if there was an immediate risk to public health and safety."
In fact, OHLA has closed only one facility since 1999, and that was not due to
any health or safety violation related to the practice of cosmetology, but
because the structure in which the facility was located was found structurally
unsafe by local building officials.
OHLA inspectors generally allow practitioners a reasonable amount of time to
resolve such licensing issues prior to citing them under Oregon Administrative
Rule (OAR) 817-090-0035(1), operating with an expired practitioner certificate.
The penalty for a first offense is $200, and for a second offense, $500.
For certificate holders who are sole practitioners in a facility, meeting the
recertification requirement would in effect force them to close during the time it
takes to take and pass both practical and written examinations.
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However, conceivably such sole practitioners could open on days when their
facilities are usually closed to make up for the time during a regular Monday
through Friday work week when they could take and pass both practical and
written examinations.
"We could have done a better job of communicating the inspection and
compliance process," says OHLA Public Information Officer Kraig Bohot.
"While we made clear the requirements for recertification, we didn't explicitly
refute the initial radio report."
Renewal Notices Sent as Courtesy
News reports also focused on whether or not a renewal notice was mailed.
Under OAR 331-030-0010(4), the agency may mail notice of expiration to the
authorization holder, sending the notice to the last known address on file.
However, the authorization holder is responsible for submitting a timely
application for renewal whether or not a renewal form was mailed by the
agency.
Did You Know...
As of January 21, 2011, there were 751 individuals certified to practice
barbering over the age of 65 in Oregon, out of a total of 4,651 certified in this
field of practice. Out of those 751, 34 are ages 80-84 and 15 are ages 85-89.
Shear Numbers
How many practitioners and facilities are active in Oregon? (Numbers in
parentheses +/- change from previous month.) According to Oregon Health
Licensing Agency (OHLA) records as of January 31, 2011:
Practitioners — 30,717 (+89)
Facilities — 4,767 (-6)
Independent contractors — 8,417 (+10)
Certificate of ID — 498 (+15)
Barbering — 4,657 (-17)
Esthetics — 13,224 (+62)
Hair Design — 21,301 (+74)
Nail Technology — 13,639 (-17)
Looking for past Board News? Visit the archives page.
Oregon Health Licensing Agency
700 Summer Street NE, Suite 320 • Salem, OR 97301-1287
Licensing Office (503) 378-8667 • Enforcement Unit (503) 378-4294
www.oregon.gov/OHLA
OHLA Agency Staff:
Randy Everitt, Director
David Sparks, Regulatory Division Manager
Board of Cosmetology:
Debora Masten, Salem - Chair
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Sharon Wiser, Lake Oswego - Vice Chair
Michael D. Snook, Salem
Linda Bergmann, Florence
Patricia A. Hall, Pendleton
Herb Hirst, North Plains
Shelly Couch, Gladstone
Stylist and Salon Newspapers | 1-888-297-7010 | P.O. Box 55307 | Portland, OR 97238-5307
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