G-2309-19884

Ministerial Health Fellowship (MHF) is a faith-based healthcare advocacy network of Black pastors and church leaders from the Middletown, New Britain, and Hartford areas of Connecticut (CT). The organization is committed to building knowledge of healthcare issues, advocating for health equity, initiating and fostering partnerships to reduce health disparities for BIPOC communities, and developing and implementing community-based health programs.

A grantee partner of CareQuest Institute since 2021, MHF has created and sustained two part-time community health worker (CHW) roles within its healthcare advocacy and promotion work. The CHWs engage BIPOC and faith-based communities in CT to provide health education, advocacy training, and oral health care. In addition to this community-facing work, MHF leadership and members of their various communities in CT met with legislators, alongside COHI, to share resident stories and express their desires for more affordable and accessible oral health care. This past year, the two CHWs completed CHW certificate courses and received training with:

a pediatric dentist in oral health for all life stages, including education on oral and dental diseases and conditions,

CT Oral Health Initiative (COHI) in healthcare and dental care systems navigation, including insurance status/coverage and care coordination,

Health Equity Solutions (HES) in grassroots advocacy centered on ensuring both individual and group voices are heard by legislators, as well as training in the train-the-trainer framework that CHWs now utilize to disseminate oral health advocacy tools to community members they meet.

In the coming year, MHF hopes to build on its previous grant activities and outcomes to expand its efforts by increasing its staffing from 1 FTE to 1.5 FTE oral health CHWs to engage a broader geographic network of faith ministries serving primarily BIPOC communities. MHF will be able to reach parts of CT such as Meriden and Hartford County in addition to Middletown, which has been the focus area to date. In addition to expanding its geographic reach, MHF’s CHWs will also be intentionally engaging young people to both promote oral health care as well as engagement in the oral health advocacy process. The organization is confident that there is a place for youth in oral health advocacy and a secondary benefit of this outreach and education will be increased exposure to oral health careers that respond to the existing disparities. The CHWs will continue to build relationships with community residents and, where possible, identify and pursue resident stories for use in advocacy and/or policymaker education efforts.

As MHF continues to serve members of its faith communities, residents, and partner agencies, the organization will also be very engaged in oral health advocacy. This component of the proposed project for the upcoming year will focus on the 2024 legislative session, with MHF’s primary advocacy efforts focusing on the passage of the following:

Affordable dental specialists

Oral health affordability as part of an affordable primary care, dental therapist, and dental hygienist package,

Increasing the income threshold for Medicaid eligibility to 300% of the Federal poverty line to increase the percentage of residents with dental insurance coverage, and

Expansion of affordable dental care policies for immigrants to cover individuals of all ages

In addition to these goals for the legislative session, MHF will capture quantitative and qualitative data that will reflect the breadth of its community engagement, efficacy of its advocacy, and the impacts that limited access to quality dental care have for Medicaid members and the uninsured in CT.

The request for funding this year is $150,000, an increase from last year aligned with the organization’s goals of increasing CHW capacity, outreach, and impact. The submitted budget indicates that most of the requested grant funds will be applied to staff salaries across five roles, including two CHWs ($121,000). In-kind support is indicated for the non-CHW positions, and the remaining funding would be used to support outreach materials as well as travel and indirect expenses. This proposal is being recommended for funding at the requested amount, which is approximately 29% of the organization’s overall budget.