G-2211-17667

Dental Connections, Inc., (Dental Connections) is a private, non-profit community health center focused exclusively on providing dental care to all. The health center provides comprehensive general and pediatric dental services, and serves all income levels and age groups, striving to be a dental home for people who experience barriers to accessing dental care.

Specific to this proposal is the organization’s work with refugee communities in Iowa, where it is based, to connect them to comprehensive oral health care. Iowa welcomes refugees from Afghanistan, Burma, and Bhutan and the state’s resettlement agencies anticipate the pace of 1,000/per year will hold for 2023. In 2022, an article titled “Refugees struggle with dental care” was published and the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation began conversations with local dental providers who actively accept Medicaid. From those discussions it was determined that a new approach is needed to screen and establish dental homes for refugees. Delta Dental provided seed funding to launch Iowa Smiles, a pilot project aimed at ensuring new refugees have access to high-quality dental services in a timely manner. Dental Connections worked with the 3 partners (county hospital, Broadlawns, Primary Health Care, Inc. (FQHC)) during the pilot. Two research abstracts were accepted for NOHC and the Iowa Public Health Conference, but one partner has since ended its refugee care coordination due to capacity constraints.

This proposal is the first submitted to CareQuest Institute by Dental Connections and is for support to continue this pilot project to strengthen care coordination that is responsive to the wide variety of these refugee communities’ needs. The project will:

Create a Community Care Coordinator position (liaison between community health clinic, resettlement agencies and patients) – considering Broadlawns ending its coordination services, this role will create capacity and would ideally be a former refugee who promotes health literacy through patient education and improved access to care. This person will be charged with collecting and tracking data related to program success.

Use a Register Dental Hygienist to provide dental screenings and education and distribute oral hygiene kits – this will happen onsite as well as at Dental Connections school-based clinic (Nolden Gentry Dental Clinic).

Accept referrals from medical providers who identify extensive dental needs through medical screenings – these referrals will come from Broadlawns and Primary Health Care, Inc., and the county hospital.

Provide culturally competent care (scheduling families together, interpreter services available, accommodations, etc.)

The early results of the pilot show 371 refugee appointments completed, 157 comprehensive exams and 214 restorative appointments, for refugees representing nine countries. Community engagement seems to be central to their approach and Dental Connections’ work. Through this work, the organization will maintain its commitment to working with ethnic community-based organizations (ECBOs). Historically, Dental Connections has served 14,000 patients annually through its programs and most patients are BIPOC. Their staff speak several languages, including 9 fluent Spanish speakers and access to the Language Line for telephonic interpretation.

This request is for $50,000, which will support the Care Coordinator and Director of Community Programs roles as well as expenses related to training, travel, and supplies. While this proposal presents a project that is more programmatic in nature than others, this would be a strong opportunity for CareQuest Institute to gain a new partner in Iowa while specifically addressing the unique needs of immigrant and refugee communities through oral health care. This request, if approved, would constitute less than 2% of the organization’s overall budget.