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January 2023

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2023 Virginia General Session Wrap-Up

March 24, 2023

Virginia’s General Assembly session ended on February 25. However, lawmakers are still negotiating updates to the state budget. The budget is crucial because it funds the agencies and programs that serve Virginians. Virginia Health Catalyst’s budget priorities include: $100,000 in general funds and $100,000 in nongeneral funds to study the costs and benefits of adding…

Pushing Boundaries to Eliminate Disparities: A Black History Month Reflection on Oral Health Champions

February 20, 2023

Racism drives health inequities and is a public health emergency. Ongoing systemic racism and unequal impacts of the pandemic contribute to many health and health care disparities that adversely impact the overall health and well-being of Black people in America. We’ve seen firsthand, and through the efforts of others (such as here and here), the…

H2Outlook Virginia: The Path to Advancing Drinking Water Equity

February 9, 2023

Drinking water is essential for life, but reliable access to safe, affordable drinking water isn’t a guarantee. More and more, we hear stories about the past and present water crises: from Jackson, MS, or Flint, MI, to the troubling drought in the American West, it’s clear our water systems are in trouble. Without adequate infrastructure,…

Catalyst Policy Priorities: 2023 Legislative Session

January 17, 2023

Policies influence our health. Ensuring that policies at the local, state, and federal levels support comprehensive health care access for all Virginians is integral to Catalyst’s mission. Catalyst engages with partners across the commonwealth to advocate for health policies that advance equity and center the voices and experiences of the communities who are directly impacted.…

Bridging the Gap Between Patient Experience and Provider Assumptions

December 15, 2022

A new Impact Story describes a collaborative project that identified a disconnect between patients’ experiences and providers’ assumptions about barriers to dental care, as well as examples of the impact of racism in health care. Patients described a public oral health system that didn’t meet their needs, citing the following as barriers to care: Cost…

Dental Assistant IIs Build Capacity and Pathways to Care

November 17, 2022

Two issues consistently rise to the top related to the dental workforce in Virginia: The significant waiting lists of new patients at dental clinics because of provider capacity limitations; and The need for a more robust dental public health pathway that builds a workforce that looks like the state demographics and serves low-income and uninsured…