In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health worked with its partners to launch an innovative educational collaboration. The COVID-19 Oral Health Recovery and Transformation (COHRT) Learning Community brought together Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Massachusetts to make systemic changes to their delivery of oral health care. The goal was not just to respond to the pandemic but also to begin the process of long-term transformation in oral health.
A new report from CareQuest Institute describes the COHRT Learning Community and its outcomes. Key findings include:
- There was a steady increase in caries risk assessments (CRAs) at the FQHCs over the course of the learning community, from a total of 275 in June 2020 to 1365 in Nov. 2020.
- By the end of the learning community, 75% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the traditional dentistry model will need to significantly transform in the next five years.
- Seven of the eight participating FQHCs reported that they were confident or extremely confident in their ability to use primary and secondary interventions.
This new report also includes information on the transformation of the learning community to a larger initiative: the Community Oral Health Transformation (COrHT) Initiative, which will continue to expand across the country.
You may also be interested in:
- How the COrHT Initiative Is Transforming Health Care, a video that highlights how organizations like the Dimock Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Roxbury, found new ways to provide person-centered care that will last long after the pandemic recedes.
- A Three Domain Framework to Innovating Oral Health Care, a white paper that outlines a new model in dentistry that will be more cost-effective, efficient, and equitable.
- Learning more about the Community Oral Health Transformation (COrHT) Initiative.
