Ravenswood Family Health Center

Transcription

1 Ravenswood Family Health Center Federally Qualified Health Center located in East Palo Alto, CA (a majorityminority community) Serving patients from South San Mateo County & beyond for 15+ years Primary, dental, behavioral health, vision care with in-house pharmacy >90% of our patients have incomes under 200% FPL >75% of our patients speak a non- English first language (usually Spanish or Tongan) CA Bay Area very high costs of living 1

2 VDH: Our Rationale A majority of children that we see at the health center are Medicaid-enrolled. They are the same children who attend Head Start and other state funded pre-school programs. They are also the same children who share a disproportionate burden of dental disease. 2

3 Our Rationale cont. Not all children at the Head Start centers and pre-schools can access the dental clinics for various reasons. The VDH program allows for the children to receive preventive services in their preschools. The parents don t have to miss work to bring their child in for dental visits. The program aims at improving and maintaining the oral health of children and their families, and this is not dependent on coming in to the dental clinics for treatment or care. 3

4 Components of VDH Onsite care: Xrays and photos Prophylaxis and fluoride Sealants ITR Parent education Staff education Establishing a dental home 4

5 VDH Team RDH/RDH-AP: Provides direct services Dental Navigator: Schedules sites Parent liaison Staff liaison Navigates families to make dental appointments Follow up and tracks Rx completion rates Dentist: Reviews charts and makes Rx recommendations 5

6 VDH Success Stories Originally terrified of dental equipment when VDH visited his Head Start preschool Ravenswood VDH staff were patient, friendly, and engaging Samuel eventually got over his fear and participated in his own examination Graduated from VDH & is now connected to regular care at Ravenswood Family Dentistry main facility 6

7 Another Success Story 2 year old child with special needs who was a recent immigrant from Israel was receiving OT for feeding issues with no improvement. VDH team diagnosed need for urgent dental care. She was able to receive comprehensive dental car through Ravenswood dental clinic. She has since made significant progress in resolving feeding issues. 7

8 Lessons Learned VDH model allows us to provide dental care to patients we could not reach otherwise Convenient preventive dental care in patients own communities Decreasing children s fear of dental care Increasing dental health literacy of families Establishing primary dental home through referrals to our main facility Improving oral health outcomes for patients 8

9 Virtual Dental Home in San Mateo County, California Manufou Liaiga-Anoa i Health & Nutrition Services Manager

10 Celebrating our 34 years as a non-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area Federal Grantee for Head Start and Early Head Start and subcontractor for State Preschool Operate 12 infant/toddler and preschools, homevisiting program and family child care network Serve 482 Head Start and 181 Early Head Start

11 Collaborating for Improved Oral Health: IHSD and Ravenswood In 2012, IHSD established a partnership with Ravenswood to serve Head Start families in San Mateo County VDH model in Head Start classrooms has been successful with School Readiness.

12 Benefits of VDH Dental visits are provided at school sites. Improves oral health of participants through regular visits and identifies any dental issues that require immediate attention. Referral process for treatment is easy and simple. Monitoring and tracking of individuals progress is maintained by IHSD s Health and Nutrition team in partnership with VDH Staff. Educational workshops are offered during parent meetings and during classroom visits.

13 Bridging the Gap VDH mobility provides easy access to our other program options outside of our Head Start school sites. Family Child Care and Home Based children and families receive oral health assessments and educational workshops during socializations. Families are more engaged in their children s oral health alleviating anxiety of financial and cultural barriers along with transportation. The addition of VDH team s pediatric focus has assisted our efforts in reaching our youngest participants in our Toddler Classrooms, while also meeting our Performance Standards.

14 VDH provides economic savings through preventative oral health care and on unnecessary insurance costs due to delayed treatment If 1,000 children enrolled in Head Start who were previously not receiving dental services were to participate in such a program, California s Medi-Cal program would actually save $2000 because the cost of providing the services would be more than offset by lower costs stemming from the consequences of neglect. This is just one example of the potential benefits of such a research and prevention based program. Other populations stand to reap benefits as well. (The Costs of Neglect of Dental Disease. University of the Pacific, Blue Sky Consulting Group)

15 Bringing VDH to Your Agency Join your local oral health coalitions Contact your health clinics to explore partnership Contact your local health foundations and hospital district foundations for potential funding opportunities Support Legislation

16 VDH s Reach Every child at any Head Start programs qualifies for VDH services. Especially if child has not had a dental exam within the past 6 months or if child has never been to the dentist before. Dental exams include: teeth cleaning, pictures and x-rays and fluoride varnish provided by a dental professional. The dental professional (Dental Hygienist) in partnership with Head Start Staff will discuss the findings of child s teeth approx. 48hrs after this visit. The Dentist and the Dental Hygienist will decide the best way to provide treatment child. The dental treatment provided at school will be temporary fillings, dental cleanings and sealants for small cavities. If the child has big cavities or infection you will be advised to go to their own dentist to continue with the treatment. If not available, a referral is made for family to Ravenswood Family Dentistry. VDH provides services to all children at school regardless of insurance status.

17 Contact Information Paul Glassman DDS, MA, MBA Yogita Thakur DDS, MS Manufou Liaiga Anoa I Manoai@ihsdinc.org 17