National Network for Oral Health Access

Hrsa (Health resources and services administration) National cooperative agreement - nnoha provided technical assistance and training through projects and activities to help Health centers provide new high-quality Oral Health services, enhance the quality of Oral Health services currently provided, implement teledentistry during covid-19, and accurately report on Oral Health care quality in mandatory annual reports to hrsa; to help Health centers adopt, optimize, and implement meaningful use of electronic Health records (ehrs) and related Health information technology; to develop and improve data quality, aggregation, and analytic capacity; use data to support clinical and operational quality improvement; to support effective recruitment and retention strategies for information and information management staff; to help Health centers identify and implement innovative models and effective practices to train Health profession students, residents, and licensed clinicians to provide high quality care to vulnerable populations in team-based primary care settings. In 2022 nnoha continued regular collaborations with other non profit organizations that also have National cooperative agreement funding from hrsa particularly in the area of building a National repository of training and technical assistance resources.

Nnoha conducts a yearlong training program for dental directors and dental program managers on subjects covered by the nnoha operations manual for Health center Oral Health programs through its National Oral Health learning institute. Nnoha also creates and distributes information, training and articles on such topics as methodology improvement, core competencies and practice management. Nnoha works with its membership of primary care associations and safety net providers to elevate the importance of Oral Health.

Annual nnoha conference - november 2022 - the 2022 nnoha conference held in nashville, tn provided safety-net Oral Health program staff including Health center dental directors and their support teams a platform to share promising practices, obtain clinical continuing education and attend sessions on emerging Oral Health issues during the covid-19 pandemic. The four-day conference hosted approximately 1,000 in-person attendees including exhibitors and speakers and focused on key topics in Health center Oral Health program operations, including teledentistry, dental dashboard, quality, financials, risk management, medical-dental integration and workforce.