Thursday, September 21, 2023
9/21/2023
For over a decade, Oregon has been at the forefront of health care innovation, and more recently set a vision to eliminate health inequities by 2030. Unfortunately, the oral health care system has been slower to be incorporated within the latest innovations, which could expand access for Oregon’s underserved populations experiencing health inequities. Further, while health transformation initiatives designed to expand coverage and improve primary care access for low-income and underserved groups in Oregon have been effective, to a large extent they have exacerbated the dental workforce shortage. Currently, 32 of Oregon’s 36 counties are designated as Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). The purpose of this grant is to develop and implement innovative, community-led programs and care delivery models to address the dental workforce needs of four designated Dental HPSAs that contribute to eliminating health inequities. This grant will be used to build upon relationships between the state and local levels to effectively integrate teledentistry services into primary care clinics, utilize existing expertise and technology to expand preceptor capacity for dental student clinical rotations, and develop a tiny mobile dental home to expand access to care and provide preventive services addressing the social determinants of health for patients currently without dental services. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA), primarily through its Primary Care Office (PCO) will collaborate with its Public Health Division, Transformation Center, the state Dental Director, along with the Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Dentistry and Capitol Dental Care on three main goals: • Construct and maintain a tiny mobile dental home by collaborating with Capitol Dental Care and community-based organizations to expand access to oral health care in areas without dental providers • Expand the pipeline of oral health professionals practicing in rural and underserved counties of Oregon by collaborating with OHSU School of Dentistry Community Dentistry to expand preceptor capacity for dental student clinical rotations in rural areas • Integrate teledentistry services into primary care clinics through a collaborative telehealth team in areas with high need – defined as areas with high emergency department utilization rates for preventable non-traumatic oral health issues The Oregon Office of Rural Health will be a key collaborator for the success of this initiative.
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).
