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Virginia Oral Health Coalition Update

May 2018

In This Issue
 
Collaboration and Leadership Workshop
 


This workshop is presented by the  Virginia Oral Health Coalition and  Community Tool Box to bring together partners from around the state who will gain or build upon the skills to:
 
  • Lead community-driven, collaborative initiatives, 
  • Garner support for collective action and policy change, and 
  • Build the infrastructure for sustainable system change.
This program is part of the Coalition's multi-year effort to foster increased collaboration to improve oral health care access, care delivery, and outcomes and boost Virginia's C+ grade on the  2016 Virginia Oral Health Report Card. The workshop is tailored for those who are involved in  regional oral health alliances or those who would like to become involved.

Please register by August 14. 
The cost is $15 per person to attend, which includes lunch on both days for registered participants.
 
Questions? Contact Lauren Gray at 804.299.5506.


Upcoming VaOHC Meetings

View our online 
 
June 11 | Norfolk

June 12 | Richmond

June 18 | Norfolk

July 13 | Fairfax
 
August 7 | Fairfax

August 9 | Fairfax

 
August 28 | Richmond
 
September 18 | TBA

November 8 | Richmond
2018 Virginia Oral Health Summit
Save the Date


Check out our 
event calendar to view meeting times and exact locations for all dates listed above.

Please take a moment and support the Coalition's work.

 

 

Please check with your HR department to find out if your gift can be matched.  

  

Virginia Oral Health Coalition

4200 Innslake Drive

Glen Allen, Virginia 23060

sholland@vaoralhealth.org

804.269.8720

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Virginia Will Expand Medicaid Coverage to 300,000 Virginians!

Virginia legislators voted yesterday (May 30) to expand Medicaid coverage eligibility to more than 300,000 Virginians - this is a big deal! Hundreds of thousands of Virginians will now have access to affordable health and mental health services, and a limited dental benefit. Read our advocacy alert for more information

Thank you to our legislators who voted for the health and well-being of Virginians, and to our partners for your nonstop advocacy as we strive to create a healthier Virginia. 

Proposed Changes to "Public Charge" Appear to be Affecting Utilization of Health Care Services

U.S. immigration officials can designate an immigrant a "public charge" if the individual accesses certain, specified public services, like cash assistance. The "public charge" designation assumes the person is likely to be reliant on the government for their livelihood, and, most importantly, the designation makes that individual unable to become a citizen or change their immigration status. Recent proposals to expand the list of services that may trigger a public charge designation are causing many immigrants to forgo care for themselves and their family members. According to leaked documents, the federal government has proposed adding two new factors for immigration officials to consider when determining if someone is likely to become a public charge: 1) the use of health and nutrition programs like Medicaid and CHIP (FAMIS), and 2) the use of these and all specifically designated programs by family members, including citizen children. For mixed status families where some members are citizens and others are non-citizens, this creates a terrible dilemma - immigrant parents will be forced to choose between enrolling citizen children in public benefits (to which they're legally entitled) and risk citizenship opportunities, or forgo benefits to stay together as a family. Because of confusion or fear, many are not accessing care or services at all.

In Virginia, naturalized citizens are already more likely to be uninsured (11%) than native-born citizens (9%).  Analyses suggest the proposed changes could trigger a chilling effect that would dramatically increase uninsured rates among citizen children with non-citizen parents. 

VaOHC staff is staying up-to-date on proposed changes and will provide updates as they are available. For now, it's important to know that the current rules and regulations are in place and enrollment for an individual or a child in a health or nutrition program does not affect public charge designation. For more info, view articles from The Children's Partnership and Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families.

Of Interest
  
Oral Health and Overall Health

Oral health and overall health are fundamentally intertwined. The following links present current information on how oral health and other social factors impact overall health and well-being.
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Repository of Oral Health Data Evaluation & Outcomes (ROHDEO)

The Texas Repository of Oral Health Data for Evaluation and Outcomes (ROHDEO) is a statewide database of oral health ind icators contributed by
community dental progr ams in Texas. The data includes demograph ics, acces s to oral health care, and clinical oral health indicators aggregated by age group and county, and is intended to inform decision makers about Texans' oral health.  
 
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Learning Collaborative Opportunity for Health Centers

The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) is looking for health centers to 
participate in a nationwide Learning Community that will help build center leadership, link staff with colleagues, and  improve patient care.  The Collaborative will foc us on improv ing sealant delivery systems to improve health c enter sealant rates for children ages 6-14. View more information and access the online application, due August 1.  

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Summary of Infection Prevention Practices in Dental Settings

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a document that summarizes current infection prevention recommendations and basic expectations for safe care. This document also includes an Infection Prevention Checklist that can be used to evaluate compliance. The Summary is intended for use by anyone needing information about basic infection prevention measures in dental health care settings but is not a replacement for the more extensive guidelines.  View more information on these guidelines.


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