conference education
Breakout Session: Dental Therapy in the Pacific Northwest Friday, October 6, 2023 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (1 CDE) Presenter: Christina Friedt Peters
Communities throughout Washington were struggling with lack of access to care and interested in exploring how dental therapy could not only expand access to care but also create professional wage jobs in their communities. In 2014, Tribal leaders from the Pacific Northwest learned about Dental Therapy and immediately recognized that dental therapy could be a game changer for the oral health status of their communities. Com- munities worldwide and rural Alaska native Tribal communities had been benefiting from care delivered in the dental therapy model for decades. Tribal leaders are interested in solutions that increase access to culturally appropriate care, improve lives of communi- ties and provide career opportunities for those in communities with limited opportunities. To make this happen strong collaboration with the Portland Area Tribes (WA, OR and ID) had to take place. At the direction of the 43 federally recognized Tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, NPAIHB lead the work to educate and organize the tribal nations and participate in the Washington Dental Access Campaign (WDAC). WDAC is a collabora- tion and partnership between tribal governments and local and state-wide organizations. This campaign is made up of Over 50 organizations, including health care associations, consumer advocates, dentists, dental hygienists, senior groups, Tribal governments and educational institutions, that came together in support of increasing access to oral health care in Washington. In Oregon, a pilot project was created with oversite from Ore- gon Health Authority and the Oregon Dental Access Campaign, modeled after WDAC passed legislation based on those pilot projects in Oregon and in Idaho, tribal nations came together to pass legislation affirming a tribe’s ability to hire DHATs through a CHAP program. Attendees will learn the collaboration and partnerships process. Understand the Wash- ington Dental Campaign and how it aided in the support of Dental Therapy in Washing- ton. And, understand lessons learned in the PNW.
Expanding the Oral Health Workforce
Intended audience: All attendees
Annual Conference Guide 2023
Page 39
A DENTAL THERAPY TOOLKIT FOR OKLAHOMA
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