- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
CMS Oral Health Cross-Cutting Initiative
On July 23rd, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first fact sheet highlighting the CMS’s Oral Health Cross-Cutting Initiative (CCI). The Oral Health CCI, led by the CMS Chief Dental Officer, is committed to ensuring equitable access to oral health care, eliminating disparities, expanding dental service availability, and effectively engaging stakeholders. The fact sheet provides an overview of the CMS’s work to improve access to oral health services across CMS programs, including strengthening coverage for Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace beneficiaries, and how it’s using data to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities in oral health care.
New Report: Oral Health Care for Children and Youth with Developmental Disabilities
The American Academy of Pediatrics published “Oral Health Care for Children and Youth With Developmental Disabilities.” This clinical report highlights the oral health needs of children and youth with developmental disabilities and calls for coordinated care.
Updated Oral Health Core Clinical Competencies Guide Released
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) updated their “User’s Guide for the Implementation of the Oral Health Core Clinical Competencies.” This guide was first created in 2014. The updated guide features new strategies, promising practices, and health center examples focused on integrating oral health and primary care practices.
Article Published on the Integration of Primary and Oral Health
A new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) focuses on best practices and challenges for integrating oral health into primary care practice. “Integration of Primary and Oral Health Care – An Unrealized Opportunity” explores the solution of using a team-based approach where a variety of professionals collaborate to provide whole-person care.
New Pennsylvania Oral Health Coalition Website Launched
The PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH) just launched their upgraded website. The site has a new look, improved navigation features, as well as a brand new “Finding Dental Care” page that connects users with resources for dental care and dental referrals across Pennsylvania. Check it out!
Pennsylvania Fluoride Study Featured in Journal of the American Dental Association
A Pennsylvania-based study will be featured in the upcoming August issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). “Cross-sectional study of association between caries and fluoridated water among third-grade students in Pennsylvania,” authored by Pennsylvania Department of Health Oral Health Program epidemiologist Dr. Jun Yang, also features PCOH Executive Director Helen Hawkey as a co-author. The study found that community water fluoridation was significantly associated with a reduced risk of developing caries among Pennsylvania children.
Oral Health and Nicotine/Tobacco Updates Available
The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) Dental Public Health Policy Committee announced a new policy statement on preventing tobacco/oral nicotine use to promote oral health. The statement provides information on the impacts to oral and overall health as well as guidance identifying effective strategies in prevention.
Click here to read the statement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released the first-ever “Clinical Treatment Guidelines for Tobacco Cessation in Adults.” The guidelines include a set of cessation interventions for adults seeking to quit all kinds of tobacco products. These guidelines are designed to help communities and governments provide the best possible support for adults trying to quit tobacco products.
Report Links Cardiovascular Health and Oral Health
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health published “The Heart of the Matter: Links Between Cardiovascular Health and Oral Health.” This visual report explores the relationship between cardiovascular (heart) disease and periodontal (gum) disease. The authors write that collaboration between dental and medical providers is critical to improving health outcomes.
Dental Publication Focuses on Integration of Behavioral Health and Oral Health
The Journal of the California Dental Association published a special issue focused on the integration of behavioral health and oral health. The issue discuses the bi-directional relationship, a framework for integrating behavioral health and oral health in predoctoral education, and resource to support the integration of behavioral health into dental settings.
New Resource: Using Public Health Hygienists in Health Centers
The Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) and the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH) created a resource for health centers interesting in adding a public health dental hygiene practitioner (PHDHP) to their team. The resource includes guidance on what PHDHPs are and are not permitted to do and information on employing a PHDHP in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).