- Call for Nominations: Rural Telehealth and Healthcare System Readiness Committee
- Addiction Doctor: Rural Residents Should Get Naloxone, Just in Case
- Rebuilding the Foundation of Rural Community Health after COVID-19
- Administration Announces $200 Million from CDC to Jurisdictions for COVID-19 Vaccine Preparedness
- Red-Zone Report: New Rural Infections Jump 30% in Last Week
- HRSA: Revised Geographic Eligibility for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants
- CMS Announces New Federal Funding for 33 States to Support Transitioning Individuals from Nursing Homes to the Community
- Rural Hospitals Without Obstetrics Units Worry About Emergency Births
- Trump Administration Invests $268 Million in Rural Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements in 28 States
- America's 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths: Small Cities and Towns Bear a Growing Share
- How the Pandemic Forced Mental Health Care to Change for the Better
- CMS Announces New Guidance for Safe Visitation in Nursing Homes During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
- Rural 'Red-Zone' List Shortens Significantly for First Time in Two Months
- Trump Administration Releases COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Strategy
- COVID Exodus Fills Vacation Towns with New Medical Pressures
University of Pittsburgh Launches HRSA Opioid Training Module
The HRSA Opioid Training Module, “Acute Pain Management Strategies,” was developed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (PI Dr. Robert Weyant, Co-PI Dr. Deborah Studen-Pavlovich). Content expert Dr. Paul Moore is a dentist, pharmacologist, anesthesiologist, and public health expert who has published over 250 articles in peer reviewed journals and has presented more than 150 invited lectures around the world. He is a renowned expert on local anesthetics, antibiotics, analgesics, sedation, drug interactions, and oral complications of diabetes. In this video, Dr. Moore shares his expertise in acute pain management strategies, responsible opioid prescribing, and alternatives to the routine use of opioids in dentistry.
Protecting Dental Health Benefits in Pennsylvania
As part of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health’s (PCOH) adult dental benefit campaign, we are launching some advocacy this fall to protect dental benefits in the state. Working with our consultant, Denny Civic Solutions, and Achieva, we have created a one-pager to use during our communications with decision-makers. If your personal organization or another organization that you are involved in would like to add your logo to the second page of this document, please click the link below no later than Wednesday, September 30th.
We appreciate the consideration.
Click here to download the one-pager.
Click here to contact PCOH to add your logo.
Child Oral Health Resource Center Releases New Resources
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) released three new resources focusing on the Title V national performance measure on oral health. The first resource, “Title V National Performance Measure 13 (Oral Health): Strategies for Success (2nd ed.),” provides information to help state maternal and child health programs in their implementation of the Title V NPM 13 and oral-health-related state performance measures. The other two resources are infographics that provide information for oral health professionals about benefits of and barriers to preventive dental visits for pregnant women and children.
Cancer Prevention Through HPV Vaccination
Check out PCOH’s informative flyer, “Cancer Prevention Through HPV Vaccination: A Dental Provider’s Role.”
This document is intended for all dental staff and includes information about the importance of the HPV vaccine, facts about oropharyngeal cancer, and tips for dental providers to educate families through teledentistry and in-person visits.
Oral Health Value-Based Care: The FQHC Story
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are remaking modern health care with an integrated oral health care approach. Health centers and their dental programs are using telehealth and implementing value-based tools for prevention, creating better disease management and positive patient oral health and overall health outcomes. A recently released white paper, Oral Health Value-Based Care: The FQHC Story, from the DentaQuest Partnership and NACHC explores how.
CDC Updates Dental Settings Guidance During COVID-19, Again
On Aug. 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) again updated its Guidance for Dental Settings During the COVID-19 Response. This updated guidance helps give clarifies the previous interim guidance and offers the following:
- Provides a section for routine delivery of care during the pandemic and a second section for delivery of care recommendations for patients with suspected or known COVID-19
- Offers a reminder for dental health care professionals of transmission risks outside of patient care areas
- Offers clarification on engineering controls for open bay operatories, reprocessing treatment areas between patients and alternative disinfection methods
The last dental update for Pennsylvania was the August 13, 2020 PA Health Alert Network (PAHAN) regarding Exposure to COVID-19 in the Dental Care Settings.
Campaign for Dental Health Releases New Media
The Campaign for Dental Health released several new memes and video snips on their website. Four new memes include messages on brushing, drinking water, mouth-body connection, and oral health integration. Each carries the 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation medallion. Five new video snips feature three pediatricians emphasizing the benefits of drinking water with fluoride and the importance of oral health for the entire family, especially those most affected by dental disease.
Oral Health Value-Based Care: The FQHC Story
The DentaQuest Partnership and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) published a new white paper, “Oral Health Value-Based Care: The Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Story.” FQHCs are remaking modern health care with an integrated oral health care approach. FQHCs and their dental programs are using telehealth and implementing value-based tools for prevention, creating better disease management, and positive patient oral health and overall health outcomes.
COVID-19 & Oral Health: Resource for School Nurses
During the current pandemic, school nurses may be the only avenue for assuring that children receive dental screenings/referrals. The Association and State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and the National Association of School Nurses have collaborated to develop a resource to assist with doing so. Please share the below resource with any school nurses you may work with or know.
Report Focuses on Networks for Oral Health Integration
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) produced a report that provides information about the “Networks for Oral Health Integration Within the Maternal and Child Health Safety Net” projects funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The goal of the 5-year initiative is to improve access to and utilization of comprehensive, high-quality oral health care in community health centers for target populations (i.e., pregnant women, infants and children from birth to age 40 months, children ages 6–11) at high risk for oral disease.