2022 Oral Health Integration Learning Collaborative | Application Form

Project Description

Virginia Health Catalyst will facilitate the 2022 Oral Health Integration Learning Collaborative with safety-net clinics offering medical and dental services in Virginia. The collaborative will provide a space for clinics to connect with other providers, improve care integration, and advance health equity goals. Up to four participating clinic teams will receive $10,000 to design and implement quality improvement initiatives that aim to improve the delivery of oral health services, educate providers and patients, and address social determinants of health in their communities. This program is provided in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health.

Each participating clinical team can expect to:

  • Understand the importance of oral health integration as a part of whole patient health
  • Implement a clinic-specific project to improve oral health integration with support and technical assistance from Catalyst
  • Learn quality improvement processes, including building a project aim statement, identifying process and outcome measures, and conducting Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles
  • Network with other dental safety net clinics in Virginia, and share best practices or lessons learned across the group

Clinic Requirements

  • Clinics must be located in a HRSA-designated dental health professional shortage area (DHPSA); click here to see if your clinic qualifies.
  • At least two staff members from each clinic (one clinical, one administrative) must participate; more are encouraged and welcome!
  • Clinics are required to attend:
    • Monthly cohort meetings. Meetings will be virtual except for an in-person kick-off session, depending on health regulations and capacity.
  • Clinics must be able to submit itemized expense reports to the VDH.
  • Clinics will be required to complete project-related homework, such as integration assessments, QI tools, and data reporting.

Project Term  

The learning collaborative will take place between February 1, 2022 and August 31, 2022.

Apply

Complete a brief application below by January 15, 2022. Up to four clinics will be selected to participate in the learning collaboration. Catalyst staff will inform all applicants of their status in late January. For questions, contact Ericca Facetti.

Virginia Health Catalyst’s mission is to ensure all Virginians have equitable access to comprehensive healthcare that includes oral health. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Dental Health Program was awarded federal funding from the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) to advance strategies that enhance the oral health workforce in Virginia. As part of this directive, Catalyst partnered with VDH to design and implement an oral health integration learning collaborative that leverages interprofessional education, quality improvement methods, and health information technology assistance to increase or expand oral health services, education, and referrals in safety net clinics.

This program is generously supported by the Virginia Department of Health through VDH HRSA Workforce Grant HRSA-18-014. VDH funding may not cover direct care or legislative activities.