Oral Health Initiative Activities in Region VIII

By John Thomas

HCFA and HRSA staffs have been very active in developing oral health initiatives. Our three most significant activities to date have been–

• Participating in Comprehensive Systems of Quality Care meetings in two states, followed by dental specific summits in Montana in November 1999 and North Dakota in April 2000. We have found these meetings to be extremely successful in raising state and public awareness of the barriers to accessing dental care, as well as for developing cooperative relationships to promote change. We believe they are the most appropriate method for this activity in this region.
• Providing technical assistance in developing Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping data in three states (Colorado, North Dakota, and South Dakota) under a special one percent HRSA grant. This data will help our partners identify their primary areas of need by geographic area and will serve as a basis to design strategies to improve access.
• Representing all ten HCFA regional offices (ROs) on the Maternal and Child Health/Oral Health Technical Advisory Group and as the consultant for the HRSA cluster representatives, as well as examining federal policies that affect access to provider enrollment and access to care.

While our focus has been on these three key activities, regional team activity has not been limited to these areas. Examples from other significant activities, classified by state, region, and nation, follow.

Colorado

• Participated in two meetings initiated by the Rose Foundation to coordinate efforts between the state dental association, department of health, and other key partners to obtain a comprehensive dental benefit package for their SCHIP
  
• Provided a dental initiative presentation at a rural health coalition meeting to align their support and identify areas where we can work together
  
• Participated in the evaluation of Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation's Miles for Smiles mobile dental van program
  
• Assisted in a local community effort to develop an outreach campaign by identifying existing models of public service announcements and informational materials, as well as funding and development opportunities.

Montana

• Provided a summary of the HCFA/HRSA Oral Health Initiative and the state dental summit to the legislature's health committee to encourage infrastructure support
  
• Monitored ongoing activities to develop the state's infrastructure and generate specific strategies for the resolution of particular barriers by providing technical assistance and data support
  
• Notified the state of additional funding opportunities for support of infrastructure development. Subsequently assisted state in writing Community Infrastructure Support System (CISS) grant application. HCFA provided letter of support for project

North Dakota

• Participated in a second forum addressing access to care for the state's American Indians

South Dakota

• Developed information and reported on access to dental care as part of the SCHIP implementation review August 1999
• Met with the president of the South Dakota Dental Association to discuss opportunities to work together to address barriers to access
• Worked closely with the state partners to amend the dental practice act to allow dental programs to operate in community health centers, and along with HRSA Central Office staff to assign a USPHS Commissioned Corps officer to the program

Utah

• Initiated and facilitated a Medicaid EPSDT and dental staff conference call to discuss current state initiatives on dental care access, including a discussion of tentative plans to hold a dental summit

Wyoming

• Initiated discussions with the state dental director to identify opportunities for a dental summit

Regional Initiatives

• Partnered with the Head Start Quality Improvement Center to provide Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility and benefit package presentations at five regional conferences for new Head Start staff, identifying ways we can work together to get more children served
  
• Instigated regional state dental directors conference calls on a quarterly basis to discuss the oral health initiative and current state activities. We also included Nebraska from Region VII at their request
  
• Provided presentations on the oral health initiative to Primary Care Association meetings

National

• Participated in the RO/Central Office meeting of the Oral Health Initiative teams and the National Oral Health Conference in Chicago
  
• Represented HCFA at the Head Start/Women, Infants, and Children Dental Initiative rollout conference
  
• Provided input in the development of the national GIS mapping project, participating in training of state staff and evaluating data collection methodologies and mapping
  strategies

John Thomas is a Health Resource Specialist, Head Start Quality Improvement Center, Community Development Institute, Denver, Colorado, T: 800-488-2348, ext. 14; E: John_Thomas@ceo.cudenver.edu.