New Hampshire Oral Health Coalition
#4 Park St., Suite 212
Concord, NH 03301
United States
New Hampshire Oral Health Coalition’s (NHOHC) mission is to advance and promote oral health for the people of New Hampshire. The organization seeks out collaborative partnerships that will improve the health and well-being of people in New Hampshire through improved public policy.
NHOHC has been a funded partner of CareQuest Institute since 2013. Over time, the primary focus of the work has been to secure and reinstate an extensive adult dental benefit in Medicaid. The Coalition and its partners successfully achieved this goal in early 2022 through CareQuest Institute support. With this accomplishment, NHOHC has expanded their area of impact to addressing children’s oral health needs, specifically SBOHP as an avenue to increase equitable access to care statewide.
In New Hampshire, there are currently 14 SBOHPs operating in 2023, serving less than 50% of NH’s public schools. Eight SBOHPs have closed since 2017 due to finances and sustainability factors, some of which were exacerbated during the pandemic. Additionally, this proposal leverages growing interest from the New Hampshire Legislative delegation that was piqued at the 2023 OPEN Hill Day. NHOHC will leverage the learning from the landscape analysis to inform the expansion of federal funding for SBOHPs for all states rather than the competitive process currently legislated and only for limited periods of time.
NHOHC will advocate for the current SBOHPs to return to a centralized governing structure under the state department of health to increase data gathering and communication functions, leveraging economies of scale to increase access statewide.
NHOHC will build community interest and engagement in this model through education and exposure to the potential of SBOHPs to close gaps in access to care for children in schools as well as other potential public health sites including community centers, nursing homes, etc. Additionally, NHOHC will create a series of reports that keep the participants at all levels aware of the status of the work and advance the vision, knowledge, and action of the project. These reports will build visibility and build the body of knowledge about SBOHPs to expand the reach and benefits of this proposal beyond New Hampshire.
Key Activities include:
Create a training module to educate and develop support for SBOHPs for medical and dental providers, school officials, civic leaders, families and the public.
Assess the landscape of SBOHPs to identify dentally underserved areas in areas of economic need overlaid with workforce availability.
Educate providers on the requirements for establishing school based and other public oral health programs.
Advocate for the department of health to resume coordination, data gathering and program development for SBOHPs statewide.
Explore other community-based settings that could benefit including child-care, community centers, senior settings, nursing homes, etc.
The budget for this proposal is $115,000 which makes up 57% of the total organizational budget, therefore, this proposal is being recommended for funding in the amount of $100,000. Included in the budget are funds for salaries, meeting expenses and indirect costs.