|
Welcome to the Spring 2006 edition of the AHEC Connection! The purpose of this quarterly electronic newsletter is to inform stakeholders of Northeastern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center (NEWAHEC) about items of interest in our region related to healthcare workforce issues. NEWAHEC serves 11 counties: Brown, Door, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington and Winnebago. To learn more about NEWAHEC, visit our web site at: www.newahec.org.
|
|
Lakeshore Community Dental Clinic  The featured project for this issue of the AHEC Connection is the Lakeshore Community Dental Clinic, located on the campus of Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) in Cleveland. This project provides dental services to patients residing in Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties who are eligible for Medical Assistance. Reports from the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) for the first half of 2003 indicated that less than 4% of patients eligible for Medical Assistance from Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties received dental service. Why? Full patient schedules and very low Medicaid reimbursement received by dental practices are two big reasons. Funding provided by Northeastern Wisconsin Area Health Education Center enabled the LTC Dental Services Advisory Committee to launch the Lakeshore Community Dental Clinic project and address this community need.
The Lakeshore Community Dental Clinic is open two half days each week from October through May while LTC is in session. The primary objective of the clinic is to provide preventive care, education and limited dental treatment to Medical Assistance patients. Preventive dental care procedures provided at the clinic include cleaning, examinations, radiographs, sealants, and fluoride treatments. Patients receive education on brushing and flossing and are offered nutritional counseling. Dental treatments available include fillings and simple extractions.
In its first year of operation the clinic served 404 Medical Assistance recipients. Clinic staff provided a total of 987 procedures. The clinic was staffed by volunteer dental professionals from Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties, including 46 Dentists, 28 Dental Hygienists, and 31 Dental Assistants. A dental clinic coordinator was hired to provide administrative support for Medicaid billing and other clinic operations. LTC dental program students, including 28 dental assistant students and 6 dental hygiene students, rotated through the clinic averaging 4 training hours per student.
Lakeshore Community Dental Clinic is continuing its service to Medical Assistance patients during the 2005-2006 school year without outside funding. Operating solely on revenue received through Medicaid billing, the clinic now sustains itself. The clinic has maintained the same number of volunteer dental professionals that participated the first year, with 9 additional days of service. They anticipate serving close to 600 Medical Assistance patients during the second year of operation. One item of interest comes from the Clinic Coordinator, Mary Ann Piepenburg, who indicates that she is beginning to see children for repeat visits. Many of these children had multiple cavities at their first visit, and after treatment and education, are coming back without any cavities at their second visit.
The following components make this an exceptional AHEC project:
For more information about this project, contact Barbara Dodge, Dean of Health and Human Services, Lakeshore Technical College, (920) 693-1386, or barbara.dodge@gotoltc.edu.
|
The State of Title VII Funding
The AHEC program is one of the federally funded Title VII health professions programs. Our federal funds are leveraged nearly fourfold with matching state funds. It is a great partnership that produces meaningful outcomes in area of health professions student training and healthcare workforce development.  In fiscal year 2005, funding for Title VII health professions training programs totaled $300 million nationally. Wisconsin receives its share of Title VII funding; a total of $5.3 million annually for a variety of programs, including AHEC, Health Education Training Centers (HETC), Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), Geriatric Education Centers (GEC), and Primary Care Training Grants and Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students. For the past few years, the President’s budget has completely zeroed out almost all Title VII funding. As the budget process unfolds, the Title VII programs have typically been put back into the budget by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, but often at reduced funding levels. Last year’s (FY2006) budget outcome was different. Overall, funding for Title VII programs was cut by slightly over one-half to $145 million and funding for many programs was completely eliminated.
 This year’s budget battle promises to be equally difficult. Once again, the President's budget eliminated funding for virtually all Title VII programs. During the last week of March we had the opportunity to visit with our state’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. We shared with them how our small amount of funding produces incredible results. We described some of the AHEC-funded partnerships like this newsletter’s featured project, the LTC Medical Assistance Dental Clinic. We also shared with them the consequences of the loss of the HETC program funding last year and the potential loss should AHEC not be funded next year.
Many of you reading this article have partnered with AHEC on one or more health professions training projects. You have seen the difference that a little funding can make in the areas of student training curriculum, health careers recruitment & awareness activities, health promotion & outreach, or continuing education. These programs would not exist without our federal funding. In the coming months, as we battle to preserve the funding that supports these programs, we may be calling on you for letters of support or visits to our elected leaders. Thank you for your partnership in the past, and thank you in advance for your continued support of this much-needed program. |
|
|
| Visit our web site at www.newahec.org |
|
