Provider updates

We were honored to provide funding for our VG and MCHD partners to attend this year’s NNOHA conference along with the CareOregon Dental QI team. The conference was held November 6-9 in Nashville, TN. Based on the attendees’ feedback, was it a thumbs-up or -down? You decide!

Overall Impressions:

• We feel really lucky to work in a state that is so innovative in the health care delivery arena.
• It was eye-opening to reveal how advanced dental care is in our part of the country. While others seem to be playing catch up, CareOregon is exploring new ways to improve dental care.
• It’s evident that safety net dental clinics around the country struggle with the same things. We are fortunate to be in a forward-thinking state that is often ahead of other FQHCs in terms of strategies and approaches to improving the oral health of our communities. That said, it is always surprising to see the innovations of smaller health center programs from distant and outlying areas to improve access to and quality of care.
• This learning experience offered a much-needed platform to refresh and connect as a leadership team, while also making new relationships and contacts from across the country. We have a lot of work to do, and this experience helped energize us in getting started.
• It was a great teambuilding opportunity. We had a broad array of folks attend - operations, leaders, clinicians, HR, pharmacy/quality – such an amazing opportunity for us all. 

Highlights:

• The need to continue to transform our vision of dental wellness from interventions to a more preventive model. 
• The concept of a CDHC (community dental health coordinator) could be really great for integration efforts; learning more about how to upskill current or new staff with a CDHC certification. 
• Sharing of tools such as reducing the number of no shows in our clinics, looking at ways to improve slot utilization, investing in current team members/growing DAs within, discussing ways to continue to increase the implementation of integrated health (i.e., partnership with our medical/behavioral health departments to help focus on the overall health of patients).
• Learned fundamentals about managing an FQHC and how to avoid unethical practices such as churning. It was fascinating to learn more about Value Based Care and how FQHCs around the country are preparing for the change. The strategy of risk stratification makes so much sense and is something that we should begin to implement.