As we begin a new year, it is a good time to take stock of where we are – and what lies ahead for the SMILES Dental Project.
A few highlights from our work in 2015:
- We assembled our project team- including a Project Director, Evaluation Team, and an Advisory Committee to guide this work;
- Partnered with University of the Pacific to learn the concept of a virtual dental home and build a model that will work for Colorado;
- We worked with our partners to pass legislation that allows dental hygienists to partner with dentists to place interim therapeutic restorations – providing one more avenue to improve oral health;
- The Colorado Health Foundation joined Caring for Colorado as a funding partner;
- Selected 6 grantees with extensive experience working to improve oral health in their communities – and are committed to building a sustainable system of care;
- To support our grantees in their planning, we developed a budget template to guide grantees in developing their operational plans, and created a project planning tool kit to support community readiness assessment and operational planning,
Since our grantees were selected in October, the six grantees of the SMILES Dental Project have accomplished much in a relatively short timeframe:
- On behalf of their communities, they have completed impressive 90-day plans. Impressive, because each plan represents local solutions directly relevant to improving the lives of the people in your communities.
- Laid the groundwork for developing community partnerships.
- Made inroads in operational plans – including plans to assess community readiness to identify the best ways to bring care to those who are not accessing the current system.
