- 1. ORAL HEALTH COALITIONS A CRITICAL ELEMENT OF SUCCESSBUT WHY?
Minnesota Oral Health Summit January 23, 2009
2. What is a Coalition?
- Definition:a group of individuals and/or organizations with a
common interest who agree to work together toward a common
goal.
- Coalitions may be loose associations in which members work for
a short time to achieve a specific goal, and then disband, or they
may also become organizations in themselves, with governing bodies,
particular community responsibilities, funding, and
permanence.
- Regardless of their size and structure, they exist to create
and/or support efforts to reach a particular set of goals.
3. Goals of a Coalition
- Coalition goals are as varied as coalitions themselves, but
often contain elements of one or more of the following:
- Influencing or developing public policy, usually around a
specific issue.
- Changing people's behavior.
- Building a healthy community.
4. Why Develop a Coaliltion?
- Concentrate the community's focus on a particular problem.
- Create alliances among those who might not normally work
together.
- Keep the community's approach to issues consistent.
5. Early View of Oral Health in Kansas
- No dental school, limited number of dental hygiene
programs
- Very limited dental services offered in safety net clinics
- No Medicaid coverage for adult dental services
- Very few providers accepting Medicaid or SCHIP
- No state leadership or funding
- Programs focused at the community level, with little
impact
- One pricipal funder with oral health as a priority (interest in
community water fluoridation)
6. The Straw that Broke the Camels Back 7. Something Had to be
Done!
- Convened multiple interested stakeholders
- Formed steering committee
- Engaged professional support
- Initiated regular communication
- Determined areas of priority
- Created a short-term strategic plan
- Hired an Executive Director
- Oral Health Kansas (OHK) was born in 2003
8. OHK Mission & Priorities
9. OHK Public Policy Success
- State office of oral health & dental director
- Legislative task force on access for adults
- Medicaid reimbursement to physicians for application of
fluoride varnish
- AEGD clinical residency program
- Extension of Medicaid dental benefits to certain adult
populations (frail elders; developmentally and physically disabled
and head injured; pregnant women)
- Extended Care Permit law for registered dental hygienists
- Changes made to the Dental Practice Act to allow rural areas
more flexibility to hire dental providers
- Oral health included in health reform conversation
10. OHK Programs and Projects
- Annual oral health conference
- Dental Champions Leadership Program
- Extended Care Permit project designed to increase the number of
RDHs and community based programs providing preventive oral health
services
- System of care projects for specific populations, including the
developmentally disabled and frail elders
- Sponsored reports:The Declining Supply of Dental
Services:Implications for Access and Options for Reform(KHI, 2005)
andKansas Health Reform:Options for Adding Dental Benefits(NASHP,
2008); Oral Health Report Card (OHA, 2009)
11. Elements of Success
- Vision, leadership & passion
- Members from multiple disciplines, including some unusual
suspects
- Advocay infused throughout all priority areas
- Coalition independent of the OOH
- Focus on systems level change, in advocacy & programs
- Decisions made by consensus, put off issues that caused
controversy
- Early victories = trust & credibility
12. A View of Kansas Today
- Increase in the number of dentists accepting
Medicaid/SCHIP
- Educational opportunities soon to be available for dentists
through AEGD program, increased number of dental hygiene training
programs
- Safety net clinic capacity has nearly tripled since 2003,
thanks in large part to the shared investments of private
philanthropy and the state of Kansas
- Dental hub and spoke model implemented in the safety net
system
- Approximately 90 RDHs now taking advantage of Extended Care
Permits
13. And, Kansas Grade Today? 14. Resources
- Coalition building:University of Kansas Community Tool Box
atwww.ctb.ku.edu
- Kansas oral health data and reports:Kansas Health Institute
atwww.khi.org
- Oral Health Kansas atwww.oralhealthkansas.org
- Contact me:Teresa Schwab at[email_address]or at
785.393.0039.