dqf2019019

Continued support to the New Hampshire Public Health Association to begin the Implementation Phase of the Oral Health 2014 Initiative, and to realize their vision of impact that: in partnership with New Hampshire oral health stakeholders, the New Hampshire Oral Health Coalition will increase the deployment of public health dental hygienists in underserved areas through the creation of a substructure that provides the knowledge, information, training, and referral network development that will increase access to oral health preventive services in a variety of public and private settings. Activities during implementation will include: improving and strengthening reimbursement and financing models for oral health prevention delivered by public health hygienists across the state; developing tools and resources to support the implementation of programming using the public health hygienist to improve access to prevention and care for underserved populations; and the weaving of a connected and informed referral network to ensure access to care and prevention through interprofessional collaboration and community engagement and education. New Hampshire’s activities over the next align with the Foundation’s focus on the inclusion of oral health in publicly funded health insurance programs by promoting community education and engagement, developing sustainable programming that extends the reach of services residents in the state will have access to, and advocating for policy changes that support efficiency and effectiveness. Grant funds will be used to support staff guidance of the implementation plan, overhead costs related to the execution of the plan, and consultant support to facilitate a collaborative engagement process that will build effective networks for mobilization around oral health improvement for the underserved in New Hampshire.