Ingham County Community Voices chose three goals when it developed a broad action plan for oral health: to increase access to oral health providers for the underserved populations, to promote public awareness of inadequate dental health care access, and to make policymakers aware of community oral health needs.
The Ingham Oral Health Task Force has implemented these goals by developing facilities to treat underserved children; reducing institutional barriers to access; and working with health care providers, policymakers and community organizations to increase awareness of oral health and develop policies to address shortcomings in the Lansing, Michigan area.
The first fruit of its labors was the opening of the Healthy Smiles Dental Clinic, a dental care clinic for Medicaid-eligible children operated by the Ingham County Health Department at the Pennsylvania campus Ingham Regional Medical Center.
The Oral Health Task Force procured grant funds from the state of Michigan to expand the clinic's capability to provide services for these children. The Task Force hopes to build on an initial grant of $360,000 by seeking additional funds from the county government and matching funds programs.
It hopes to use these additional funds to expand dental care access for uninsured adults. When a capacity for adult care is developed, the task force is developing a system to link these facilities with local emergency rooms, where the underserved often seek medical attention.
The Task Force has also successfully campaigned to reduce some of the barriers that prevent dentists from treating underserved patients, such as excessive paperwork and low reimbursement rates.
The Michigan State Medicaid program now accepts claim forms developed by the American Dental Association, which should increase the number of area dentists treating Medicaid patients.
The Task Force is also advocating for increases of the Medicaid reimbursement rates for oral health services and exploring the possibility of developing an adult dental clinic.
The Oral Health Task Force is reaching out to engage educators in promoting better oral health care and better access. Staff members from the Healthy Smiles Clinic travel to area schools to provide oral health education.
A partnership with Lansing Community College, the Otto Health Center and the Healthy Smiles Clinic has led to expanded programs to screen school children for oral health problems.
It is also working with local school boards to promote awareness of childhood oral health care and nutrition to both children and their families and to eventually develop a system that enables schools to connect children to appropriate oral care facilities.
The Task Force is also speaking with the University of Michigan School of Dentistry to develop a program that assigns dental students to treat underserved populations in Ingham County.
The Task Force plans also include reaching out to new oral health care professionals by asking dental schools in its area to educate new providers on the consequences of inadequate dental care to underserved populations.
Ingham County Community Voices executed its strategy by engaging both policymakers and community groups in oral health awareness. The Mayor of Lansing has emerged as a high-profile spokesperson for oral health issues and has touted the oral health programs to promote the area to businesses.
Dialogue with the Superintendent of area schools aided the development of the school-based programs, which promote oral health awareness to parents as well as children.
The Task Force has enlisted neighborhood and community groups, including the African American Health Institute, which subsequently made oral health a priority. It has also collaborated with health care professionals, such as the Central District Dental Association; major area dental schools; and Delta Dental, an insurance provider.
However, there is still much work to be done. Ingham County Community Voices is hoping to address a shortage of area dentists using several strategies. It is seeking to develop a process to identify retired dentists who are willing to help improve dental care access for uninsured adults.
It is developing programs to lure new dentists to Ingham County, including creating a program to forgive the student loans of dentists who will commit to treating underserved populations and a grant program for these dentists.
It is working to improve the ability of the State Medicaid agency to provide dental care to children enrolled or eligible to be enrolled in the program. It is hoping to expand its school-based partnerships to include Head Start programs and parochial schools.
The Oral Health Task Force is augmenting its messages on the importance of oral health care to develop the resources needed to increase access in Ingham County. These messages will clarify the relationship between oral health and physical health, self-esteem and employability and will be used to develop advocacy efforts.
The Task Force plans to collaborate with the Central District Dental Association, the Chamber of Commerce, hospital and educational systems, elected officials, and media outlets to promote this campaign, which seeks to energize people to advocate for the universal oral health care to key leaders and policymakers.
A computerized system providing population details of specific geographic areas in Ingham County is being developed to buttress these advocacy efforts with tangible data. The Task Force would translate the lessons learned from these programs into a data source on the possible structure and funding of a universal health care benefit for the uninsured.