Don't Miss the Virginia Oral Health Summit!
Each year, Virginia Health Catalyst brings together medical and dental providers, health advocates, and community members at the Virginia Oral Health Summit to discuss ways to improve health care access for all Virginians. This year, the Summit will take place on Thursday, November 7th in Richmond and will feature Tamara Lucas Copeland, Dr. Omar Abubaker, and Dr. Christine Lumsden, as well as new topical breakout sessions! Register for the Summit here - don't delay, registration closes November 1st.
Don't forget that VHCF will reimburse (at the early bird fee of $135) up to two registrants from each dental safety net organization or health safety net organization that provides dental care. Once you have registered, you may submit a reimbursement request. Please contact Ally Singer Wright at (804) 828-5804 or via email with any questions.
The Latest Profile of Virginia's Uninsured is Here!
Using the most recent statistics available, the Virginia Health Care Foundation's 2019 Profile of Virginia's Uninsured provides a detailed picture of the Commonwealth's uninsured. The report (prepared for VHCF by the Urban Institute) uses 2017 US Census data. Estimates in this report do not reflect Virginia's Medicaid expansion, which went into effect on January 1, 2019.
The Profile provides a wealth of information about the uninsured in the Commonwealth including:
- Estimates on the number, percentage and demographics
- Separate analyses of uninsured children and adults
- Estimates of access to primary care, behavioral health and oral health
- Detailed tables showing the uninsured at income levels relevant to the FAMIS programs, Medicaid expansion and the Marketplace across regions of the Commonwealth.
Learn more here.
Updated Dental Safety Net Listing By Locality Now Available
VHCF's listing of dental safety net locations by locality is the only comprehensive resource available to help Virginians find local dental safety net providers. Please distribute as appropriate and save for your records. An interactive map of the listing is also available here.
Making Progress Towards Dental Integration
CrossOver Ministry recently made an important move to migrate its Electronic Dental Record (EDR) to a new module that integrates with the Electronic Medical Record utilized by its medical clinic. While this transition was no small undertaking - it took over a year to complete - the benefits of the streamlined medical records are substantial. CrossOver clinicians in the medical clinic can now view a patient's dental record and any dental issues. During a dental visit, dental providers can easily pull up a patient's medical record and see the patient's most recent appointments, current prescriptions, medical conditions, and much more.
This further augments CrossOver's exciting integration practices. Warm hand-offs regularly occur between medical, dental, and behavioral health as needed. New medical patients receive oral health checks, while blood pressures and glucose levels are checked, as appropriate, during dental appointments. This migration to a shared EMR/EDR is just another step in CrossOver's continuous efforts to provide high-quality integrated care to their patients. To learn more about CrossOver's approach to integrated dental care, contact Kerri Reed, Senior Programs Manager, via email or phone: (804) 622-0803 x128.
Announcing Making Brighter Days Possible Grantees
In July 2019, VHCF awarded four grants under its Making Brighter Days Possible: Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Services (MBDP) initiative. MBDP is a special initiative focused on increasing access to behavioral health services for uninsured and medically underserved Virginians in Virginia's mental health professional shortage areas. All of the grantees are incorporating telemedicine into some aspect of their delivery of services. This initiative was made possible by a generous grant from Sentara.
The following organizations were selected to participate in this exciting 18-month initiative, which launched on August 1, 2019.
· Central Virginia Health Services
· Hampton Roads Community Health Center
· Johnson Health Center
· Tri-Area Community Health
To learn more about MBDP visit our website.
Take Advantage of an Upcoming SignUpNow Training
Did you know that more than 325,000 newly-eligible Virginian adults are now enrolled in Medicaid health insurance? Despite this good news, tens of thousands more remain eligible, but not yet enrolled. Others will need help with renewals. SignUpNow teaches the "ins and outs" of the eligibility requirements, application procedures, and post-enrollment information for Virginia's Medicaid and FAMIS programs:
· New Medicaid health insurance for adults
· Programs for children and pregnant women (the FAMIS programs)
· Low Income Families with Children (LIFC) program
· Medicaid for Former Foster Care Youth (FFC)
· Plan First (family planning)
Even if you've attended a SignUpNow training in the past, this fall's trainings will contain new information...so, sign up again! Check out http://www.vhcf.org/workshops/ to find a workshop near you!
What We're Reading
Ø When Less Is More: How One State Is Using Data to Reduce Unnecessary Medical Care - A look behind the creation of Smarter Care Virginia, an initiative aimed at reducing low-value care.
Ø States Explore Emerging Evidence to Learn New, Innovative Uses of Telehealth - The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) recently launched the Telehealth Affinity Group, composed of state policymakers, that is examining emerging evidence from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) into innovative uses of telehealth to transform health care delivery systems in states.
Ø Building Resilience For Greater Health And Performance: Learning From The Military - This blog post describes how the Department of Defense (DoD) and the US Military Services, comprising the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, as well as the National Guard can offer important insights on how to strengthen resilience.
