Wednesday, May 7, 2025
5/7/2025
Fiscal Year 2025 Expanded Hours. - Applicant: Community Health Association of Spokane (dba, CHAS Health). Grant Number: H80CS00319. Requested Funds: $500,000 per year for two years. NEED: CHAS Health requests HRSA Expanded Hours funding to increase hours and days of operation at our East Mission Dental Clinic, located in Spokane Valley, Washington State. CHAS Health thoroughly evaluated patient unmet needs at all 26 of its in-scope clinical sites—including 23 brick-and-mortar delivery sites and three mobile medical units—before selecting East Mission Dental Clinic. The need for expanded hours at East Mission Dental is evidenced by several metrics. Days until third next available appointment, a core business measure for outpatient access, shows that there are no new patient appointments and no hygiene access for adults for at least six months, and there is a two-month wait for restorative appointments for fillings. Additionally, over the past six months, the clinic has had an open slot rate of just 2.9%. This is approximately half of the average for the Dental Service Line overall. These statistics affirm limited appointment availability at the clinic and service line levels. East Mission Dental also reports the lowest score among CHAS Health dental clinics for patient experience related to appointment wait times, with a score roughly six points below the clinic’s average survey score. Yet, among metrics that track patient loyalty, East Mission Dental scores high. These data suggest the patient population prefers to remain at East Mission Dental, but wait times are negatively impacting their experience. East Mission Dental also offers unique strengths that will maximize the impact of Expanded Hours funding. The productivity of the East Mission Dental team is strong, with fewer open slots than any other clinic and the highest number of encounters per day of all locations in CHAS Health’s Dental Service Line. These statistics signify that additional hours and access would be utilized by the patient base. Another advantage of selecting East Mission Dental is its location. The clinic is on the second floor of a two-story building, with CHAS Health’s Spokane Valley Urgent Care clinic located on the first floor. Expanding hours at East Mission Dental will bring operations in closer alignment with the Urgent Care clinic, creating dental access for patients with pressing dental needs that cannot be addressed by Urgent Care providers. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Expanded Hours funding will allow CHAS Health to increase hours of operation from 10.5 hours Monday–Friday and 9.0 hours on Saturday (currently) to 12.5 hours per day Monday through Saturday. We will also shift from operating six days per week in our current schedule to seven days by expanding hours to Sundays. Specifically, hours will change as follows: Current hours: Monday–Friday from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. New hours: Monday–Saturday from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM and Sunday from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM. This equates to 23 additional hours per week and new total hours of 84.5 per week. This new operating schedule will open appointment slots and, thereby, alleviate wait times for appointments. PROPOSED SERVICES & POPULATION: CHAS Health will maintain all existing dental services offered at East Mission Dental; Expanded Hours funding will help us increase encounters and reach more unduplicated patients. Our team of dentists and hygienists will offer exams, cleanings, x-rays, root canals, crowns, fillings, and extractions. Patients who will benefit reflect East Mission Dental’s current patient population. Greater than two in three patients (68%) rely on Medicaid, and 18% of patients are uninsured. Nearly one third (33%) are unstably housed, including 24% who report being doubled up. These data reveal that East Mission Dental’s patients have limited access to dental services. Expanding hours will fill unmet needs and improve health outcomes among our underserved patients.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).