The Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine (JBECDM) is the only dental education institution in the state of South Carolina. The institution has trained dental professionals to deliver comprehensive dental care for more than 50 years and its mission is to develop transformative leaders and oral health providers to improve wellness.

This proposal falls under Advancing Equity through Oral Health and describes a project meant to accomplish the following:

Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) is a trusted, independent voice for Kentucky’s children. The organization has worked for over 40 years to improve children's well-being through public policies that influence the lives of children and families.

NIIOH plans to bring together three independent national initiatives that have been advancing interprofessional workforce transformation across education and practice – NIIOH (including Smiles for Life), Oral Health Nursing Education Practice (OHNEP), and the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (NCIPE) – under the leadership of NIIOH with one Executive Director and Administrative Support. The consolidation of these three organizations will reduce silos, improve communication, and increase impact. The two overarching goals are to:

Oral Health Kansas (OHK) is committed to improving oral health in Kansas through advocacy, public awareness, and education. Oral Health Kansas has been a funded grantee partner of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health since 2011. In recent years, OHK has focused their advocacy efforts toward successfully expanding and now implementing adult dental benefits within the state’s Medicaid program, KanCare. The new dental benefits went into effect on July 1, 2022, and include fillings, crowns, periodontal care, and silver diamine fluoride.

Children Now, based in California, is a longtime partner and grantee of CareQuest Institute and is primarily a children’s policy advocacy organization. Between 2015 – 2020, through California’s Medicaid 1115 waiver, the state implemented the Dental Transformation Initiative, which included the implementation of multiple areas of policy and practice change. Through the Dental Transformation Initiative, Children Now partnered with a health IT company, Oral Health Solutions, to develop the Medical-Dental Referral and Action Network (MDRAN).

Hawaii Public Health Institute (HIPHI) works to improve policies, systems and environments where people live, learn, work, age, and play through: Issue based advocacy; Education; Technical assistance; Capacity building services; Conferences and Trainings. HIPHI is applying for funding as the backbone organization of the Hawaii Oral Health Coalition (HOHC). For context, CareQuest Institute has supported both HIPHI and an organization called Hawaii Children’s Action Network (HCAN) since 2017 to operate different functions of the HOHC.

The Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) is one of the oldest dental schools in the nation and has been committed to providing oral health care to thousands each year as well as conducting innovative research to shape the dental profession.

Virginia Health Catalyst (VHC) is the state oral health coalition of Virginia that works to ensure all Virginian’s have equitable access to comprehensive health care, including oral health, through specific strategies focused on public health, policy, public awareness, and clinical-community care partnerships.

NCSL is the bipartisan membership organization serving the nation’s 7,386 state legislators and over 30,000 legislative staff in all states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. NCSL does not advocate for any state policy or systems change but does provide its members, state legislators and legislative staff, with policy research, legislative tracking, publications, and educational opportunities to connect with national experts and other legislators to discuss potential policy solutions.

Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) is an educational organization of approximately 2,300 pediatricians dedicated to promoting the health and well-being of children and the value of pediatric practice.