By
Mark Doherty, DMD
Executive Director, Safety Net Solutions
Executive Director, Safety Net Solutions
The DentaQuest Institute proudly presented the 2014 John Rossetti
Safety Net Solutions (SNS) Centers of Excellence awards at the 2014 Primary
Oral Health Conference in Florida.
I look forward to presenting these awards every year. The awards
honor the challenging and uplifting work of community health centers in making
dental care available to all. They also honor the legacy of Dr. John Rosetti, a
friend and mentor,
who dedicated his career in the U.S. Public Health
Service to the oral health needs of underserved people. The DentaQuest
Institute named its annual Safety Net Solutions Centers of Excellence Award
after John to honor his spirit of excellence in public health leadership. The
2014 Centers of Excellence winners are programs where leadership in oral health practice management has led to
sustained improvement in access to care and better oral health for many more
patients.
Here are the 2014 John Rossetti Safety Net Solutions
Centers of Excellence:
Kansas
- Flint Hills Community Health Center based in Emporia, Kansas, has become increasingly more efficient and is now functioning according to a more sustainable business model. Since collaborating with the Institute’s Safety Net Solutions team, the health center stabilized its balance sheet, improved its scheduling processes, decreased the patient no-show rate from 20 percent to 13 percent, and increased patient visits by 17 percent.
- Health Partnership Clinic, based in Olathe and Paola, Kansas, successfully transitioned from a free clinic to a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in just 18 months. Collaborating with the Institute’s Safety Net Solutions team, the clinic improved its administrative infrastructure, patient flow, and operational processes. Patient visits have increased by 450 percent and preventive services for patients less than 21 years of age have increased by 142 percent.
Maine
- Fish River Rural Health, located in Eagle Lake, Maine, has become increasingly more productive and effective in providing care to the local community. Since collaborating with the Institute’s Safety Net Solutions team, Fish River Rural Health decreased the patient no-show rate, increased revenue and more than doubled its patient base, which has allowed it to achieve financial sustainability and serve many more individuals.
Ohio
- Columbus Neighborhood Health Center in Columbus, Ohio was funded to receive technical assistance from Safety Net Solutions by the Ohio-based Osteopathic Heritage Foundations. This health center faced the dual challenges of a high no-show rate and a large number of uninsured patients. Through work with the Safety Net Solutions team, Columbus Neighborhood Health Center was able to add many more children to their program. It also reduced patient no-show rates, increased the number of overall visits, and closed the gap between net revenue and expenses.
Pennsylvania
- Esperanza Health Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has become more productive and effective in providing oral care in their region. Since collaborating with the Institute’s Safety Net Solutions team, the clinic has increased patient visits by 53 percent, decreased the no-show rate, and increased preventive services provided to patients less than 21 years of age by an astounding 700 percent.
DentaQuest
Institute’s Safety Net Solutions program works with safety net dental programs
because we believe in their mission of providing high-quality clinical care to
underserved populations. Through customized technical assistance, Safety
Net Solutions guides programs through the practice improvement process to
assist them in achieving their goals in areas such as increased access, strengthened
financial viability, and improved oral health outcomes. Our philosophy is to
work collaboratively with administrators, dental directors and program staff to
develop strategies that are realistic and achievable.