G-2102-16681

The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) is the community health center association of Illinois that leverages expertise to educate, empower and advocate for Illinois’ community health centers so every person and community across the state can access the cutting-edge, compassionate care they need to thrive. Illinois is a primary care association that DQP has worked with for about 9 years, through Safety Net Solutions, the National Oral Health Innovation and Integration Network, and more recently through our grantmaking RFPs in 2020. While broadly their work has advanced integrated models of care historically, more recently, their work focused on piloting new interprofessional models of care for diabetes management. Their pilot in 2020 built and drove practice transformation on both the dental and medical sides, resulting in significant results for patients.

This proposal centers on three primary focus areas including: leveraging the expansion of their integration pilot to advocate for payment reforms that allow for broader implementation, leading a cohort of health centers through a DEI learning collaborative, and integrating oral health into a statewide pandemic health navigators program. From the data that was acquired from their pilot in 2020, they have significant tools to be able to push for dentists to be able to bill for glucose screening. As well, as a result of their work, an exponential number of patients were referred and landed and received effective diabetes prevention and treatment. Additionally, the state is on the precipice of launching a pandemic health navigators' program which speaks to a critical window of opportunity to integrate oral health with COVID-19 relief efforts and the social determinants of health. Lastly, the DEI learning collaborative will create new opportunities to design trauma-informed care that supports marginalized communities.

The requested amount of funding for this project was $150,000 and the recommendation from the review committee is to fund in the amount of $100,000, which will support time and supplies, as well as the staffing supports to have a contracted facilitator for the DEI learning collaborative. The reduction in funding is based upon historic funding levels for primary care associations, aligning the budget with the scope of work and outcomes, and effectively managing the grantmaking budget to ensure the maximizing of our investments in 2021.